A Snow Day in the Life

It must seem like overkill to our relatives up north that we make such a big deal of a few inches of snow falling in one night. Having grown up in snow country and raised my boys in Chicago during their younger years, we are more than comfortable with a little snow. I think that's why we notice its absence all winter long here by the sea.

We have been praying (literally) for at least one snow day this year and now we are on day two of no school!  What a treat! We pulled out the snow pants, boots and mittens and had a good laugh at how much the older two have grown.  RW's pants are at least three inches too short but they still fit around his slim waist so they worked just fine. They first headed outside at 7:00am yesterday.  Then again at 10:00, 1:00, and 4:00.  By that time I found myself silently grateful that we only do this once a year.  What a pain it is helping these boys out of muddy boots and soggy snow pants, then hauling everything to the dryer only to start all over again by the time the cycle ends. I had forgotten about the tears that accompany a five-year old whose mittens came off in the snow and who comes inside sure that his hands are permanently frozen.

On the bright side, we had plenty of cocoa and chocolate chip blondies, interspersed with long stretches of time to play in the sunbeams by the windows, to play X-box with other snow-stranded friends, and even time for me to take lots of photos throughout the day.  At some point I realized I was doing my own version of day in the life by Ali Edwards. Seeing the way the light changed throughout the day led me to want to capture it on my camera. The more I am aware of the boys growing up the more I want to imprint each moment of the present on film.

I even dared to take a snap of myself, in all my un-made-up glory as reflected in the bathroom mirror. This simple post impacted me and I am trying to get my(real)self back in the picture a little more this year.

And yes, our unadorned Christmas tree is still up.  We thought it finally seemed appropriate now that there is white stuff on the ground. As much as I am ready to move on to spring, the glowing evenings beside the tree are the perfect end of each day. I took the ornaments off after Epiphany but the boys don't want us to take the rest down. That's the beauty of artificial trees, the magic can last and last.