endless gifts

Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

#237-250

237. sharing cosmic brownies with Dawn at school from the leftover snack basket...because "if you eat half, it doesn't count."
 238.how using Ivory dishwashing soap in the kitchen makes me think of my Mamaw and Papaw's house in Georgia (and washing dishes with them when I was little...and how much fun I thought it was!)
239. the peace I gain from an afternoon of crafting and creating
240. sharing the blizzard with our neighbor and friend with a movie we'd never heard of before and tortilla soup
241. new recipes and when they turn out like I hoped they would
242. so thankful that the shower didn't break on a day I had school!
243. the heated corn sack (that my friend BJ made me) that lies at my feet each night when I got to bed
244. renewed relationships
245. my school friend Janie popping in to my classroom to say good morning and good bye everyday
246. joey the cat being entertained by a pen for at least 10 minutes
247. the blizzard imposed "snowcation" and how it's a perfect excuse for staying inside like a little hermit crab and cuddle up with my husband while watching  the adventures of Michael,Dwight, Jim, and Pam (otherwise known as the Office)
248. one of my most frustrating students giving me a heartfelt hug when he's remorseful
249. sending Valentines in the mail
250. sweet little girl in my class with a new haircut...she had at least 6-8 inches chopped off!
 She was so excited to show me!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Snow days are for not having anything to show for yourself

So here I am. The coveted snow day. Joey the cat probably thinks "Wow, mom, you're making lots of progress in the sleeping-in department. Way to go!" (as sleeping is his favorite pasttime) Yesterday I got up at still a decent time but today I'm embarrassed to say how late i slept. It was the whole "I knew we were having a snow day" thing. No alarm. I did wake up at 6 this morning and think "Oh no, I overslept!"; then I quickly remembered that this was okay. I vaguely remember my husband kissing me goodbye and I think I rolled over and grunted or maybe mumbled "love you" as he left to face the arctic temperatures and navigating the snowy roads.

I do have the whole "survivor's guilt" thing about me getting to stay home and him not. Sure, there's the whole "The kids are crazy!" thing when at school and there's snow and the whole liability and transportation thing. But seriously, everyone else has the whole transportation thing too. And sometimes people who aren't teachers think we're big babies or something for not being able to make it out in the snow or something when everyone else has to put on their boots, coats, and wield the ice scraper. But really, for their being many down sides to being a teacher (I will not elaborate here, there are other posts for that; wouldn't want anyone to think I'm complaining), having the potential for snow days is a bright spot. I will put up with my "love pit" because I know there are days that I will not have to. Speaking of, he was gone Friday and that was like a "snow day" from my love pit in itself.

But I digress. My favorite Ann Voskamp has posts for the weekends that are titled something like "Weekends are for..." And it got me to thinking about snow days and the reasons I love them. Hence my title. Snow days are for not having anything to show for yourself. Snow days are for enjoyment. If I want to make homemade clam chowder and it takes me an hour to do it, that's okay. If I want to reorganize my craft cabinet and watch a movie, that's okay too. In the whirlwind and regular "wear and tear" of each day, I get caught up in the ongoing "to-do" list and whole being productive thing (it's overrated). But I feel like there's really no other alternative. And something about snow days makes it's okay to not get anything done that day. Like the world and normal "laws" of productivity don't apply that day. And even though I did get things done yesterday, it was like a "freebie." And my to-do list wasn't determined by "hustle and bustle" but by "I feel like doing ..." (although lugging the pieces to my old desk down to the dumpster or the boxes of Christmas decorations down to storage were not in the "feel like" category but the "need to"-however, this meant I didn't have to do it at night or make my husband do it.)

So I will pour myself some more Earl Gray tea and curl up with the kitty. And do something else to make our home more cozy. If I feel like it. For tomorrow is coming, and probably school and probably my precious "love pit." And I will probably have more energy to tolerate and love him because I had these days.