A Perfect Snow Day

Today was our first real snow day of the season. We woke up to blizzard conditions, and the snow kept swirling and falling until mid-afternoon.

Luckily, we had no plans and no obligations today. We enjoyed a very lazy morning of building vehicles out of K'nex, snuggling, giggling, and watching Spongebob. We had a very late breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Eventually, we headed out to shovel the driveway and walkways (our wonderful neighbor took care of our sidewalks with his snowblower). R was a huge help, in between jumping into snowdrifts, eating snow, and making tunnels. We spotted one of R's classmates outside shoveling with his dad up the street, so we walked over to say hello. R brought his shovel so he could help them. The boys played while A helped R's friend's dad clear out his driveway and clean off his cars. We were invited in for cocoa and hot cider. The mom and I have been chatting a lot at the playground after school, and our boys get along very well. We've had a couple of playdates, too. So it was nice to hang out for a little while today. The mom sent me home with fresh, homemade brownies. Love that!

After a very late lunch at home, A took R out for sledding while I stayed home to wrap presents for my employees. I looked out the window at one point to look for my boys and saw the most amazing pink and magenta sunset. When the boys came home, I stripped R out of his snowy clothes, we lit a fire in the fireplace, popped "White Christmas" into the VCR, and piled onto the couch together. It was a bit of an experiment because even though watching it is a holiday tradition for me, this was the first time that A or R had seen the movie. I figured they'd get bored and find something else to do after a little while. But they watched the whole thing with me and pretty much enjoyed it. That made me so happy. I had figured that that was one Christmas tradition I'd have to continue all by myself without a daughter to keep me company. It actually made me cry a little that it worked out today. When R saw I was getting sniffly, he cradled my face in his hands and gave me a sweet kiss. Life and love are all about unexpected surprises.

It was a good day.