No School Snow Day
My kids are home from school today because it snowed.
Here in Kentucky it doesnāt require much snow fall to cancel school. They have cancelled schoolĀ in the past when snow was predicted, before a single flake fell. Iām not complaining.Ā Iād rather not have to get out in the mess if I donāt have to, but my New York friends like to make fun of how much of a pansy Kentuckians are in regard to snowfall.Ā I’m alright with that too.
I have a 13 year old in middle school and a 14 year old in high school. This morning they woke up to the news that school had been cancelled, but for the first timeĀ since they were able to walkĀ upright, they didnāt immediately run to the front door, sling it wide open and begin incessantly asking when they could go play in the snow.
Today’s no school snow day was strangely different.
In fact, they both slept until 10am then whenĀ they wokeĀ just asked me casually about what was for breakfast.
Thatās it.
The only exciting thing that happened this morningĀ wasĀ when my son told me I had āanother momentā in my sleep. He said he came to my bedroom lateĀ last night to tell me that school had been cancelled. When he nudged me awake he said I came up swinging my fists at him while yelling for help. I calledĀ bullshit until my husband confirmed that it did indeed happen. I have absolutely zero memory of any of it. My son said he just decided to let me find out on my own about the school thing and left my room quickly before he got punched. Iām so glad I didnāt actually land any of those punches that I allegedly threw and also relieved to see that he thought it was hilarious as he told me about it.
(For some further background on my bizarreness when I sleep take a look back at a blog from several months ago titled Freak in the Sheets at https://www.amandawaggener.net/freak-in-the-sheets/. Be thankful you donāt have to share a bed with me. Mad props to my husband who has survived doing so for many years.)
So, aside from the near assault on my child, it was a quiet morning.
Me: āYou want to go play in the snow today?ā
My daughter: (laughter)
We had breakfast, tidied up the house a bit, hung out in our pajamas for the better part of the day and made plans on how we were goingĀ to spend our snow dayā¦..which did not include playing in the snow.
How did this happen?
ITāS A NO SCHOOL SNOW DAY!!! Why are my kids too big to want to play in the snow?
I retreated to my bedroom and looked at Facebook. It was full of pictures my friends had posted of their littles in the snow. Pity party ensued. It made me feel sad.Ā Last year my kids acted like kids, but somehow there was a transformation and this year they are acting like teenagers!
They are growing up. I wonāt get to take cute pics of them bundled up so tightly that they can barely move their arms while they throw snow balls at each other. I wonāt get to clean up puddles of water off the floor all day long while begging them to please put all their wet snow gear in the laundry room. I wonāt get to make them hot chocolate and watch them snuggle up together on the couch under blankets, watching cartoons while they warm up. Their pink little cheeks that are so cold they hurt and the frozen snot on their top lips is a thing of the past it appears.
They grew up some more on this snow day.
Itās another first.
I decided to go to my bedroom, get under a blanket and write. In the peace and quiet. And that’s when it hit me that this aināt so bad.
I wasted a good chunk of my day grieving the loss of one of the chapters of their childhood ending instead of enjoying the perksĀ and being excited about what this new chapter has to offer.
There will be a day soon enough when a no school snow day wonāt mean anything to me because they will be grown and out of my house. Iāll look back at these new teen years that we have just started and miss them. Iāll miss how they woke up every morningĀ in my house and needed me to help them getĀ their breakfast. Iāll miss how they stayed inside with me all day driving me crazy with their loud music and way-too-long showers. I’ll miss not knowing all the details and being right in the middle of what is happening in their lives.Ā Iāll miss how we spent these days working on the upcoming science fair project that’s due soon. Iāll actually miss all this hustle bustle business that creates so much energy and makes the house feel so alive.
I donāt want to be so sad and focused onĀ what has passed that I miss out on what is here in front of me right now.
Itās actually pretty great that I donāt have to go outside and freeze myĀ butt off, then wonder if my fingers may actually be frost bit from giving one of them my gloves because theirs got wet.
This teenage chapter of life is pretty awesome, at least on snow days, at least in regard to my body temperature.
Maybe, but please remind me of this during my next breakdown. As they age, so do I. They say the first thing to go is the mindā¦..and maybe a nose if you wake me up at the wrong moment while Iām sleeping.
You make me see that I need to enjoy all this growing up and away business instead of mourning what was lost and pining for another baby!
Thanks so much for reading Amy!