buried

We are breaking all kinds of records this year with all this snow.  We’ve had 5 major storms in three weeks, bringing us over 90 inches of snow.  We’ve had 10 school days cancelled because of snow and snow clean up and would have more this week if it weren't February vacation.  It is beautiful.  It is nuts.  It is hard.  It is cold.  It is an adventure. 

Yes, all this snow makes life quite complicated.  There is no place to put it any more, it takes about three times as long to get anywhere with the narrow, slippery roads, and there is no place to park.  But I have to admit,  I love being snowed in.  I love making fires, eating hot cocoa, having everything cancelled and hunkering down in  my cozy little home with my kids.  Sure there’s all that shoveling and hassle once life starts again, but those golden days where everything stops are priceless to me.  My life suddenly becomes simplified.  All the periphery motherhood tasks (like errands and taxing kids around and interacting with the outside world) melt away and I find myself just being present with my kids.  We read, we play games, we bake bread.  A snow day gives me license to wipe everything off my to do list and just be with my kids.  And that’s the part of my job I love best.

We thought this was a lot ^^^ our first three feet after the first major blizzard where they canceled school all week.  We stayed in and had tea parties, went out and built forts, went sledding.  We did all the things you look forward to doing when life is a crazy blur during the holidays.  We watched movies and read books and slept in and stayed up late.    After being snowed in for that whole week we got to go and spend the weekend at our friends Lake House.  I’d booked their lake house in the middle of the holidays when I was longing for some good alone snowed in time with just my little family.   Little did I now we’d already be having our fill!  It was nice to have a change of scenery.  It was so beautiful up there.  Hopefully more pictures of that later.  Then another big storm rolled in and we had the next Monday and Tuesday off.  At this point we were all ready for some structure we we had “mommy school” where they kids each put together some reports, we read some history together and made a new timeline (like this one), did some writing and reading and show and tell.  Peter especially loved being part of school, I think he felt so big.  Just that little bit of structure made being snowed in for so long much more bearable.   I really love teaching my children.  Days like these make me want to yank them out of school always and discover the world with them.     After the second storm ^^

After the third storm ^^ We’ve gotten out to ‘hike’ through our enchanted forest a few times and that’s where the real joy and magic happen.  It is quite a snow adventure out there, and so full of crystals and beauty.  Boston covered in snow ^^

And all these pictures are BEFORE we got our last 16 inches today and yesterday.   Gotta take a new picture after that doozy.  You can’t see the picket fence anymore and that mound of snow is nearly covering the window.   Jeff shoveled for about 4 hours today….all the snow off sunroom roof, around our car.   It’s still blowing out there. 

So, here’s to snow days. Every time I curse how hard it is to get in and out of my driveway I have to remind myself how many magically present moments this snow has given me with my kids.  Every time I feel unproductive because, really, I’m not getting anything done, I have to remind myself that just being with my kids, present with them, is the most productive thing I can do right now in my job as a mom.

And then I have to get out into the woods where it’s white and magical and breathtakingly beautiful.

So, winter, come on. Bring it on.