Sunday, February 10, 2013

snow day.





Just about everyone in Massachusetts had a snow day on Friday in anticipation of Nemo.  I am not sure how I feel about the naming of snow storms, but this storm had a name.  Winter was starting to not feel like winter here: we were rapidly watching our shoveled pathways melt away, and new patches of ground were revealing themselves each day.  This is not supposed to happen in February, not in New England.  A good winter keeps us tucked in its blanket of snow well into March.  Last week there were casual mentions of snow here and there, and by last Wednesday it was just about all anyone could talk about - some with dread, and some, like my family, with pure giddiness.

As a parent, it is easy to get in the rut of saying no to your children's requests or softening the blow of constantly saying no with the gentler "maybe later."  For example: No, you may not have a sucker. No, you may not paint your face before school. No, you may not ride on your crawling baby sister. When asked if I will read Goodnight Moon for the eleventh time, maybe later.  Each day, I try to make a point to say "yes" to at least one of their requests and then join them in said request fully, without distraction.

When we woke up Saturday morning to a foot and a half of snow and my eldest asked, "Can this be a winter celebration day where we have cake and we all get to blow out candles to welcome the snow?" without hesitation, I said, "Yes!" We rolled up our sleeves, and by nine in the morning our lemon poppy seed cupcakes were in the oven, we were on the phone inviting friends to our celebration and dreaming up plans for the rest of the day.  Sledding? Yes!  Cross country skiing? Yes!  Books by the fire? Yes!  Hot chocolate with whipped cream?  Yes!  Shoveling?  Maybe later. 

In my excitement over our winter celebration, I even said "yes" when, on an impluse, my husband asked if he could tear down our bedroom closet, so there was that too.  All in all, it was an incredible winter celebration.  If someone can decide to name a winter storm, I guess it's okay we turn the same storm into a holiday.





3 comments:

  1. Sounds like an amazing day for all of you! Love you & your family! :)

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    1. Thank you Emily, it was an epic weekend of snow induced fun! Much love to you & your sweet family too!

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  2. What a GREAT day! SO sad we didn't get plowed out until 8pm that night! We would have loved to celebrate the wonderful storm with you!!

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