It is safe to say that this has been one wild winter. Our
local weatherpersons have been slanderously suggesting that we are not quite
over with the white stuff. And in case you haven’t heard, ole Punxsutawney Phil
saw his shadow. A very large groundhog lives under my parents’ barn. I suggest
we ask him next year. Surely he will be more sensible.
Snow days at our house aren’t all that different than any
other day. Depending on the severity of the day we might nix our
extracurricular activities, but it’s still a school day.
I am always a bit
amused when “northerners” poo-poo us hill folk for closing down shop whenever a
bit of the white stuff makes an appearance. There is one nasty bit of weather
that will defy your army of snow plows and snow blowers. It’s called ice. Those
of us who are native to the region understand this. You try driving up a hill
on the stuff. You might find yourself in a gully…or facing oncoming traffic. No
thanks. I’d rather stay snug as a bug inside with my books and my family and leave the ice skating to the pros. And
hope that we don’t lose power for 2 weeks (which has happened). Mention the ice
storm of ’07 (or was it '06) and folks around here start twitching.
I am one of those odd ducks who is seldom bored. It could be
because when I was a child my mother threatened added chores when we came
whining to her. “I’m bored!”
I learned
quickly to occupy myself. There were always art supplies, books and games at
the ready. We lived in the middle of nowhere in the Boston Mountains of
Northern Arkansas (we moved north to the Missouri Ozarks when I was a teenager).
Other than the boys across the woods who liked to pilfer through their neighbor’s
belongings and tend their still (true story) our only neighbor was Mickey. She
was a wonderfully sweet older lady whose parakeet collection seemed to grow
daily. We could wander the ¼ mile to her house, but she was in league with my
mother. She always had a floor ready to vacuum (all those parakeets) and a pile
of mail to ready to move from one place to another. She, too, did not believe
in being idle.
Fortunately, my son is another one of those odd ducks who always can find
something to occupy his time. It might
be that I have picked up the “if you’re bored there are always chores” mantle.
He is very good at occupying himself.
So what are my plans for the next days and weeks of winter? We
will still be at our studies, but a boy can only “study” so many hours of the
day without needing to build, destroy and create something. I’m gathering supplies. Along with the gallon
of milk (and my almond milk) I need to get before our next big weather event, I’m
going check my supply of hot glue. I can’t imagine being trapped inside without
it. Toilet paper we might could live without…hot glue is a necessity. There are
a few other items on my list. Duct tape (of course!), maybe some extra baking
soda for a science experiment. I am going to make sure I hit the library and
the Kindle store. There are few books I can read over and over. My hot tea and
coffee supply needs attention. I think I used the last of my tea bags
(disgraceful) to dye some gift tags. Other than that, Josiah and I will occupy
ourselves and enjoy every minute of our snowy days inside.
We just don’t do “bored.” If anyone even
suggests that he is bored, I am going to suggest in something in turn. He could occupy his time with a very congested and cluttered closet in his
room. Try it. It works.
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