Dear Friend,

Today is February 9^th, and we are slowly being buried alive under a thick white veil of snow. No, really.  It hasn’t stopped snowing in hours and it isn’t supposed to stop any time soon. This is not a cry for help, however, because this is glorious!  The boys are home and so is my husband, Justin.  None of us is going anywhere.  Thankfully we are stocked up on all the necessities: coffee.

I love days like this—they are a vacation from the normal humdrum.  This is a carry-over from my childhood when snow days were the most coveted day of the year (aside from Christmas of course).  I remember racing to the big black box of a TV in our family room as soon as I awoke.  I’d turn on the news and watch the ribbon ticker at the bottom of the screen naming the cancellations and delays, holding my breath until they came to “Pennington County Schools: Closed.” And “oh the joy that filled my soul!”  A whole day off of school!  I remember looking at the clock periodically through the day and thinking, “If I were at school right now, I’d be taking that math quiz.” Or, “If I were at school, I’d be running to biology!” And then, feeling giddy, I would take another sip of hot chocolate and snuggle down to read Sweet Valley High, thinking smugly, “Ha! Take that Mr. Christensen!” As though he was sitting at home, disappointed that he couldn’t force another algebra equation out of me. (It turns out, if I understand my teacher friends correctly, that this is not actually the case. Apparently teachers enjoy snow days too. Who knew?!)

To be honest, as a stay-at-home mom, today is not much different from any other Saturday when everyone is home anyway.  But for some reason, snow days still seem to hold a little bit of magic, a little bit of the unexpected.  It’s the kind of day when, if we’re all still in our pajamas at noon—that is not only ok, it’s encouraged!  It’s a day for pancakes and bacon.  It’s a day for sledding and gingerbread house building and ignoring the list of chores (for a few minutes anyway—I’m far too OCD to let the dishes sit in the sink!) It’s a day for popcorn and movies and hot chocolate.  In short: It’s a day when my husband and I get to be kids, too. I love snow days.

Praying you are staying warm and dry and that there’s a little bit of unexpected fun in your day, too!

Love,

Olivia

Sledding with Daddy