February

February was an awesome month for reading, writing and snuggling by the fire!  Our town was frozen in – twice!  This crazy winter weather lead to reflections on our First World Problems and made me think about what was important during the Winter Weather Advisory.  We lost power for 18 hours but we were warm and safe – which is all that matters, really.

At the beginning of February, we were able to make it down to south Georgia to see my cousin Jaston marry his long-time sweetheart, Meagan.  I hadn’t seen some of my family in so long – it was nice to hang out and reconnect.  And of course, meet Baby Bryce (as Caroline would say:  he’s so adorable!).  I love weddings … they remind me of my own, my reasons for getting married and the things I’ve learned.  On of the most important things I’ve learned/realizes/come to understand over the past seven years is that Everything They’ve Told You About Marriage Is A Lie.  Seriously.  Go to bed mad.

Before all the winter weather, we had a chance to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  It’s always an iffy holiday around here.  BJ wants to be made at me for breaking up with him on this day in high school but he wants to celebrate with the girls.   So I had to explain myself.  Once and for all:  Don’t Be Mine. Not Yet.

February was an awesome month for me at Moms Magazine.  With almost 30,000 views, it was my most successful posting month and I am thankful to each of you for your continued readership, friendship & support.  Thank you, so very much, for following me on this adventure!

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) – here are my Moms Magazine articles linked for you:

12 Different Daddy Daughter Dates
5 More Things Your Teenager Wish You Knew
The Trail of Cheerios
10 Ways to Stay Connected to Your Teenager
Dear Pregnant Mama
The Truth About Little Girls From A-Z
Breaking the Birthday Party Habit
Parenting Lessons from My Kid’s Bookshelf

Winter Weather Advisory

Yes.  I’m irritated.  I have a  million things to do at school right now.  Grade papers.  Organize elections.  Plan lessons.  Teach the children.  Okay, maybe not a million.  But I have a pretty long list of things that take up time, energy, and space within my brain that need to be accomplished.  Sooner rather than later.  And it’s not so easy to just pick up where we left off.

Last week, three days.  I missed three days with my students because of ice.  And it was only really bad for like one and three quarters days at my house. So, I should’ve been able to be back at work teaching a day and a quarter.  I should have been there, preparing.  Prepping.  Expostulating. Two days.  I got two days back with my students.  Interrupted, of course, by a weekend.  That was the last thing I needed was a weekend.  To sit around and not do any of the things I should have done while I was home not doing the things I needed to be doing.

Winter. Weather. Sucks.

Not only do I now have to prepare lessons from home for my 135 students – lessons that may or may not have anything to do with what I am currently teaching because I have to stop and restart and stop and restart my teaching, planning, prepping, and regroup continuously – with two children vying for every waking second of my attention, I now I have to complete Pre-K homework online with my 5 year old which consists of going outside feeling, tasting, smelling, holding, and melting the. snow. And create a predictions chart.

Not to mention scrounge something for dinner only to realize I didn’t feed the baby lunch and that is probably why she won’t stop crying and continues to find her way into the pantry pointing aimlessly and saying “schnack”.

I just stepped in yogurt.  And the baby colored on the sofa.  And there is chocolate milk in the five-year-old’s hair (how the hell did that happen?).  I need to scream.  Or cry.  Or drink.

This wasn’t what I had in mind six weeks ago when I was begging for a few extra days home.

But then again – nothing about life is really on our time, in our plan or by our design, is it?  When I beg for a snow day, it’s to snuggle and play and reconnect with my family.  It’s to drink extra coffee, catch up on TV, read an extra book.  This past week has been so stressful – power outages, boredom, whininess.  Obsession over getting everything done.  Not getting anything done.  Having zero motivation to do anything but sit.

Perhaps, unbeknownst to me, that was what I needed.  To sit.  To think.  Perhaps, the eighteen hours of no power or heat or a shower was my reset.  And these days where the roads aren’t bad here but they are somewhere else is God telling me slow down.  Take it easy.  Instead of a whisper, perhaps He’s yelling at the top of His lungs:  I am here.  I am holding on to you.  I am in control.

Perhaps the snow dusted trees bruised by the weight of the ice storm last week is merely God saying:  Remember me?

The Winter Weather is not convenient.  Or appreciated.  Or welcome.

But God’s love is.

And there is no greater illustration of God’s love for me than the gift of my children.  So, I’m going to go clean up after them – and I’m going to turn our living room into an incredible Wonderland of games and music and snacks where giggles and silliness and excitement will echo.  And I’m going to make hot chocolate and apple cider and whip up some cookies.

Because tomorrow, I may be back at school wishing I had taken in more of the moments I was given today.  So, excuse me – I have a tea party to plan … and attend.

First World Problems

Everything went dark.  I had just snuggled close to my love, fire roaring, girls sleeping and suddenly, the eery sound of silence lingered thick in the air.  The power was off.  And it was pretty evident it wasn’t coming back on any time soon.  We found the candles and the flashlights, fumbled our way upstairs where we put the girls into our bed to ensure that they would stay warm.  And despite not having to go to school the next morning, we went to bed early, listening to the wind remind us that there is ultimately something more powerful than even the most advanced technology.

As of last night, approximately 38K GA Power customers were still without power.  We welcomed in a couple refugees – my husband’s three teenage cousins – because they had been 24 hours without power and the temperatures were dropping.  As of tonight, there are still thousands in our community without electricity.  And the temperatures are dropping into the single digits every minute.  Tomorrow it will be brutally cold.  Another reminder that no matter how prepared we are, how advanced we may seem, how privileged we are, there is something much greater directing the script of our lives.

In the midst of this winter weather, I am left reflecting on what I have rather than what I didn’t during my 18ish hours without power … sure, I didn’t have a shower, or coffee, or a hot meal or heat blowing from my vents.  I didn’t have internet or TV or lights.  I didn’t get to see Leeza Gibbons crush Geraldo on the Celebrity Apprentice or finish the Criminal Minds Marathon I’d been watching all day.  And I definitely didn’t get to do all the laundry I have had piled up for the last six weeks.

Monday night was cold.  But not as cold as in the shelters or on the streets or in a car.  Not as cold as tonight.  Not as cold as it will be for some of my students who barely have heat anyway.  Unlike many of the students in my county, my belly was full.   And though I didn’t sleep soundly, I slept warmly cuddled next to my two precious girls and the man that I love more than anything.  Safe.

I saw on a string of messages on Social Media someone ask Georgia Power to come to their neighborhood first because of the kids and elderly. Another person responded for her to wait her turn.  The comments on the school district’s Facebook page regarding the decisions to close or not to close school are disheartening.  Name calling.  Irrational conclusions.  Parents fed up with the hustle and noise of their stir crazy children.  No one decision is right.  And some people can’t see beyond their own walls to understand that this situation is greater than the individual – our school leaders have to look and see the sum of everything.  If the buses won’t start or there are still trees on the road or teachers can’t get to the building or kids have to stand out in the subfreezing temperatures without proper clothes … how can we expect real learning to take place?

It’s amazing what a little inconvenience does to the best of people.  We are all empathetic and charitable until we have to stretch a little.  Until we have to be a little uncomfortable.  Until we have to be patient.  Until the wine runs out or the coffee won’t brew.  When we are warm and comfortable, it’s easy for us to post pictures of the weather and cheer about not having to go to school or work.  I’ll admit, at 5AM yesterday morning when we were sitting in the living room by candlelight, a 21 month old wanting milk and cheerios and not understanding why we kept trying to keep her away from the fireplace, I thought it, too:  this wasn’t the ‘snow day’ I had been hoping for.  But I was safe.  And somewhat warm.  And so were my children.  This house I often bitch about wanting to sell provided shelter, comfort and protection.  More than I often think I deserve but for which I am so thankful.  Because I know that there are students at my school who are hungry.  And cold.  And scared.

For some in my community, it’s been 48 hours without power.  I pray for their safety as the sun sets and the temperature drops.  Those thirty thousand people in our community that go to bed hungry every night, I pray for them, too.  Because many of those families receive help from a program called Backpacks of Love – the school kids bring home backpacks with supplemental groceries to help feed their family.  Some of these kids haven’t had a real meal since lunch on Friday, February 13th.

Not getting to the gym.  Needing a Starbucks.  Operating on 5% battery on our smartphones.  Losing a freezer full of “extra” meat.  These are first world problems.  Problems that pale in comparison to second graders getting off the bus in a sweatshirt in 7 degree weather.  Or a 7th grader who hasn’t really eaten in five days.  Or a senior walking to work in the ice and snow so that he can help his family buy firewood.  We get caught up in our first world problems so quickly that we forget to reflect on the third world issues of this most advanced civilization we live in.

I’m ready to go back to work and my kids could really use the structure of school.  But then again, I’m pretty sure missing school is a #firstworldproblem, too.