Yesterday as I got in the car at 2pm to go Christmas shopping, the temperature gauge on my car read 79 degrees. I fiddled with the temperature control dials in disgust, because the cabin of my SUV was stuffy. I could not even put the fan on because the air was too humid, I had to run the A/C. On behalf of Northerners everywhere, I grumbled.
Imagine my surprise at 5pm to read a post from a local friend that the Weather Channel was forecasting snow overnight! What????
Sure enough, as evening approached, the wind kicked up. Blowing even more of my icicle lights up onto the roof, of course, and detaching the ends so they now sway in the breeze. But I am not complaining. I love those lights, and love my hubby even more for climbing on that high roof three times already to make them just right. And from where I stand, down on the ground, they look just fine.
But back to the story. We slept snugly to the sound of strong gusts outside, which continue even this morning. I can even report that I slept straight through the night without stirring, for the first time in two weeks. Glorious.
Boo Bear leapt out of bed with complete joy this morning. I heard her exclaim, "I just love snow!" She dressed and flew downstairs in a heartbeat, then put on her full winter gear and raced outside to shiver in the sleet and powder.
Ahh, childhood.
Justin asked, "Do the kids have school today?" I scoffed at the thought that the question even had to be asked! Of course the kids would have school in this weather! But since chatting with a few other friends this morning, I realized that in Texas, this actually could be considered a snow day. What a world.
And while it was a real possibility, no the kids did not, in fact, have a snow day. At least, no one has called me to come pick up my child. Yet.
When Rooster heard the commotion, he wanted to get in on the action. So I dressed him as quickly as possible and put on his gloves and a windbreaker, as that is the only jacket he has, and sent him outside.
This was about as much time as Boo had needed to experience winter.
Rooster enjoyed it for a moment, but seemed confused about why this was supposed to be so much fun? He poked around the yard for a moment and then gave me a beseeching look to rescue him.
As for me, I was in such a hurry not to miss the moment that I was outside in my pajamas and flip flops. And no, I do not have a picture of that. But my toes are still cold. Good thing I bought gingerbread coffeemate yesterday for my morning java!
The snow is just about gone now. The wind continues, but only a few flakes remain scattered about. I tried to explain to the kids that an ambient temp of 35 is actually warm compared to other parts of the world, but they were too busy shivering and begging for cocoa and hot oatmeal to hear me.
And so it goes. In trying to give my kids the world, apparently tolerance for cold weather is one of the things we lost. But you can't have everything, and really, we are more than happy to share our warm climate with whomever wants to come visit (or live) here!
Best of all, the furnace guy is on his way to fix our heater so it actually turns on. Since it has been so warm, I have not been able to confirm my suspicion that it was not working, until this morning. Yes, it is disgusting, I know. I think once I get this house heated above 65, the feeling of living a cold Ohio (or PA or MI or IN or UT) day will disappear and the sense of living in Texas will return.
But we can say that we took advantage of the novel weather while we had it, and the kids have their memory of "that day it snowed in Texas."
**Update!
After I wrote this, the snow started in earnest about 3pm. By nightfall we had almost 2 inches! At 7:30 I sent the kids back outside to build a snowman... carpe diem, ya know? An hour later they finally got cold and wet enough to return indoors. I popped them into my giant tub to warm up, then we watched "The Night Before Christmas" together before I tucked them in at 9:30. I totally blew bedtime, but oh, the memories.
Oh this was the best. And, bless your husband for climbing on that roof to fix those lights three times. I forgot to comment yesterday about the lights. I am way to neurotic to let my husband dangle from the roof. Let's just say, I can't see any good coming from it. :-)
ReplyDeleteAs a Floridian I am jealous of your snow day, even if it is rare. Right now, it's 79 degrees. Ugh.
First of all, I wish you lived closer cause I just know if we ever got to talking, our husbands would never get us to stop. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read "how to give a cat a pill" The last time I tried that, my cat flipped out so much he somehow lodged his collar between the back of his neck and his mouth. I ended up having to tackle him and cut it off with scissors. Not pretty.
I'd love to talk to you about the books. I'm actually enrolled in Long Ridge Writer's Group and that how I got the Cindy rogers book. I think you can but it though. It's not a curriculum book. If you want to email me my address [email protected]
I'd love to hear from you.