Ah... what a winter wonderland, so beautiful, so serene, so mystical... and oh, how wonderful to have a snow day and be stranded at home in my PJs for the whole day baking cookies with my favorite girl! Wait for it... Ok, so here is the point where I turn into a crotchety old New Englander with an arthritic hip and get REAL about the weather and my total disdain for all things winter. #1 This is the view from my office and if any of you have ever had to deal with parking on campus before, you know that it is 100X worse with snow covering the lots!! People tend to improvise without the visible lines. Grrr. I have to walk at least a mile in the snow & ice from my car to my office in the morning. Walking campus, my ass! The paths are shear ice and, OK, I have to giggle a little when I watch everyone slipping and sliding their way into buildings and into the woods... but it's really not as funny when it's me and I'm spilling a cup of coffee all over myself!
#2 Bundling up... Layers suck! Layers and winter gear suck even more when you have to deal with bundling and unbundling children (God bless those of you with more than one child under the age of 8... I have to give you SERIOUS props). For me, winter means the beginning of the Great Appropriate Winter Clothes Debate. The last two mornings at my house have been nothing short of torture. I want to preface this story with the fact that Alise has an AMPLE supply of hats and mittens. At first glance of this child crawling out my car and into school, a tear might come to your eye imagining that this poor child may be homeless or neglected. Clearly this is a social worker bringing her to school, how sad. Actually, you would be surprised to learn that this is the new look for 2007 among most elementary school students! (This season's winter fashions are featured in December's edition of Tortured Mothers Monthly) Alise CHOOSES to only to wear the least protective and raggedy winter gear. The reason the others remain sitting in the drawer, unused, is because they "don't feel right". Hats are too tight, mittens are weird, scarfs are just plain out of the question... but running out into the snow in her boots/sneakers and having them fill up with snow and ice is just fine by her!!! HUH?!? OK, moving on...#3 Defrosting the car. I need a freaking car starter. I realized this this morning when I literally rolled out of bed, put on my clogs, stumbled outside into the bitter cold and started my car in my PJS. Alise of course takes this as a go-ahead to play outside in her PJs too. Me, yelling, her, slamming the door, me shuffling back inside muttering obscenities (our neighbors love us). This is our morning routine... It's lovely.
On a warm and positive note... we are heading to Florida for Christmas break to visit my sister! Flip-flops - Here I come!!!! We are surprising Alise with this for Christmas. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming need for alcohol in New Hampshire this time of year, my husband will be staying home to contribute to the decay of society (and pay our mortgage). My mother will be heading down the following weekend and we will be staying on the beach at Katie's sister-in-law's FABULOUS stilted house! HOOORAY for sun and sand! (oh yeah, and my lovely sister, of course!)
Happy Holidays to everyone... And all the best in 2008!!
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