Winter Rollercoaster

We started off this week with a snow day.  Then mid week temps were around 56 degrees F.  Then Friday was a "snow day" (more like ice day).  We've gone from winter, to spring, back to winter.  Today is on and off snow with temps around 16 degrees F.

With all this wacky weather, someone was bound to get sick.  And they did.  The 5 year old is sick right now.  He started saying last night that his throat hurt and he didn't feel well.  He seemed fine this morning, then started complaining about not feeling well and having a headache.  But he was dancing around the house so I didn't think too much of it.  But by noon, he was couch bound and crying that he was going to die.  So we just returned from Urgent Care and he tested positive for strep.  So he's couch bound again, and he's gotten his first dose of antibiotics.  Now we wait to see who gets sick next.  Since the older boys are at scout camp today, it's bound to happen.  My bet is on the middle one.

I used to love winter and snow.  But now I'm part of the cliche:  "The older I get, the less I can tolerate this snow and cold".  I do not like being cold.  And I detest driving in the snow and ice.  If it were just the cold, I wouldn't like it, but I could handle it.  But having to drive in snowy or icy weather is just too stressful.  I always say that I'm a southern girl trapped in a northern girls body.  It becomes truer and truer every year.

Last year I read the book Winter Meditations by Fr. John Bartunek.  It helped me to appreciate the beauty of winter and the season itself.  I probably should have revisited this book again this winter.  I've actually read all of his "Meditation" books and highly recommend them.  I found helpful insights in all 4 of his books, but Winter Meditations was particularly helpful since Winter is my least favorite season.  But it helped to see why God gave us winter and the reasons why I should appreciate this season.

Ok, I think I just talked myself into getting the book out again so I can revisit some of the benefits of this cold and barren season.

This was our "snow day" on Friday.  It went from 54 degrees at 10 am to 34 by 11 am.  The rain turned to ice and then the snow began.

Today.  16 degrees F with on and off again snow and 40 mph wind gusts.

Back to School...or not.

Today should have been the boys first day back to school after Christmas break.  But thanks to sheets of freezing rain, and now snow, they are home again today.  They have no complaints about extending their Christmas break by a day.

I had quite a few things planned to do around the house today, so this means all of my plans aren't going to happen.  That's OK.  I won't complain about a lazy jammie day.

We took down all of the Christmas decorations over the weekend.  It always makes me sad.  But for some reason this year, it really hit me hard (like ugly cry hard).  Time is flying and the boys are getting older and it's happening too quickly for me.  I started thinking that the oldest will be 16 in one month.  Pretty soon he'll be off to college and our family Christmas traditions may not stay the same.

I know, I still have several years before that happens, but it just hit me that my boys are growing up and things won't stay the same.  To say that I don't handle change well is an understatement.  I know that my job is to raise the boys to become happy, independent, moral men and send them out into the world.  My head knows this.  But my heart wants to keep them little.

These days are short.  And the busyness of the world makes it hard to enjoy every moment.  But I have to remember that I need to enjoy EVERY moment, even the difficult or mundane.  But enjoying every moment doesn't mean holding on to it (or the boys) with a death grip.  At least I have a few more years to perfect all of this and to learn to embrace the change.