Monday, February 8, 2016

Snow Day

The scene is set.  The forecast has been watched for hours.  There is a constant current radar playing on the computer.  Someone is checking for closings on a mobile device.  Ice cubes are getting flushed down the toilet.  Spoons are gently placed beneath the pillows.  Pajamas are uncomfortably worn backwards and inside out. 
The fact remains that while children would do almost anything for a snow day, the verdict is still out on how parents feel about them.  Sure, the thought of being able to sleep in and not have to function enough to pack lunches before the coffee has really set in sounds wonderful.  Even more so, the idea of snuggling by a fire and reading books cuddled up with your kids seems idyllic.  Hot chocolate and sled riding, an extra day to just enjoy your home.  All splendid.
But then there’s the flip side.  The reality of life not going as planned.  The juggle of who will be with the children because as much as you wish it would be, the rest of the world doesn’t get the pleasure of shutting down for snow and ice.  Not only that, but it never fails that the picture perfect world of a snow day only lasts until around 11:00 when someone wants to go out, someone wants to stay in, everyone is hungry, and no one understands that mom actually can’t lay on the floor and play cards all day, as much as she wish she could.  (Apparently the clean house and laundry and a pantry full of food just magically happens?)
So as a parent, it’s hard to know what to wish for.  I can promise you that there is no one out there who enjoys a two-hour delay, because nothing messes up your entire day like starting it two hours late.  Do we chance the fighting and the cabin fever for a slice of the fantasy life?  Do we set aside our responsibilities in order to accommodate these little people that wear their wet boots all the way through the house and do not stop nagging and singing until you break down and want to build a snowman?
Personally, I do.  I chance it with all my heart and soul, with every old wives tale trick to make the Keepers of the Snow Day grant us that ever frightening robo phone call at 5:00 to tell us that there will be no school.  For as much as I love order and schedule and being able to do what I need to do when I need to do it, even more do I love the chance at being able to stop life for a day, even if it means that tomorrow will be twice as hard.
They’re only little once, and I’ve only got so many years to live vicariously through them on a snow day. 

Pajamas: flipped.

Originally written/published 2/1/15


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