The Snow Bird Report

The weather around here has been really, really cold. The kind of cold that bites and won't quit. The kind of cold that limits my wardrobe to either my pj's with several socks, or sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Lucky for you you don't have to see me in such a fright! Well, I'll admit, I have become pretty lax in dressing up for school. We all have actually. Emily's idea for getting dressed for school is changing pajamas. And Jacob...well, he would be happy in nothing more than a diaper on most days...but again, it is way to cold.

The area schools around here have been fortunate to get out of school due to the weather, but not Harbor House...nope...I am cruel and won't declare a "no school" day. Emily thinks it is totally unfair, and Jacob...well, he could care less. I on the other hand am thinking this one through. If I called school off and there was no snow on the ground, what would the kids want to do with their free time? Watch television. Uggghhh! Nothing drives me more crazy than too much TV! I know my kids and I know what their little "atomic bomb building" brains are thinking, therefore I know it will only lead to boredom. And boredom + 1 kindergartner + 1 toddler = ALOT of fighting and destruction. So, I choose to keep them occupied and busy with things that can be monitored and not turn their brains into complete mush.

Don't get me wrong, I get excited when I hear that schools are closed and then remember that I am not apart of that circle. I look forward to days that we aren't going to be working, or when a field trip is coming up. I find it quite humorous when people think that I must LOVE being with my kids all day long, grind my own wheat, and read them bible stories by a campfire (OK, well that last one I have done). I do enjoy being with my kids...but lets get real, not all the time. I do wonder about the missed opportunities of getting to dress up and go into the real world and talk with others who don't end their sentence with "whatever." I would think it would be nice to help those who appreciate what I am doing for them, rather loosing what I just searched 30 minutes for.

My kids grate my nerves and drive me crazy just like anybody elses. I am no supermom or saint. Quite honestly, I find myself to be rather peculiar. But I like peculiar. I like doing what I am doing. It fits me. I never thought that doing what I am doing would be fitting, but I am totally at peace with this, even when I am breaking up a fight, cleaning up spilled milk, and shooing the puppy from the trash all at the same time.

I do what I do because this is what God has called me to. Maybe not everyone believes that God exists or even would find this task so successful. I have had enough people question why I wasted all that money on a degree just to stay home. I didn't waste a dime. I like to think of it as very expensive counseling for myself. God knew what I needed and when. He knew that I needed a break. He knew that I need a place of healing and rest. He planted me by streams of water, with 3 other lives in order for us to grow and flourish as a family. There is no way that would have happened in any other set up.

So while I still look for "school closings" due to weather, I hang onto those days when I know that this school needs a break. Maybe it is too pretty to be indoors and we trade in the books for our bathing suits and head for the river. Whatever the weather...our school calls the shots.