It melts away

Day 2 of our unexpected winter break and the weather gods have been busy. I have seen and heard about sleet, snow thunder, frizzle and icy travel. I have listened to the pellets bang against the windows, heard the wind, waited for the branches to fall and the power to go out and even though the sun is shining right now and the icicles are dripping and falling I am awaiting round 3, the snow that is supposedly on it's way. What it has reminded me of, this repast from work, is how quiet it is and how noisy it once was. I am a wee bit jealous of my friends who still have children under roof. They may wish to trade places with me but they are stuck with what I dont have and, somewhat fondly, remember.

The "toddler tornado" picture from my friends shows the chaos of a little one whose toys are part of the decor. The frenzy of playing and dropping and playing again with the pink kitchen and colorful pieces of who knows what are everywhere. I remember the hundreds of legos or dozens of matchbox cars and their assorted kits to go with them (a car wash that squirted water was fun). Hearing about the boredom of the tweens I know(siblings no less) who played together, a game of hide and seek, while forced to be inside, brings a smile. Even a friend cooking pancakes late in the morning gives me a twinge of nostalgia. I miss the cozy times we could pop in a video and watch a movie during a snow day and not care about getting dressed unless we wanted to.

I remember the days of boots on boots off, baggies over socks, wet mittens, frozen ears and toes,sweaty smells and shivering boys. I loved helping them get warm again. Hot chocolate and hugs,blanket forts and huddling together. In this neighborhood of almost only boys the snow forts and snowball fights were ongoing. Now that I think about it the real fights happened, too. Brother on brother live action wrestling. Arguing over tv shows and toys. Picking on one another. I miss some of that, sometimes, but I seem to be able to gloss over the memories of the claustrophobic cabin fever and the growing irritations for the sweet memories.

My remembering is often like this. Sweet over sour. I know the bad times were here, some really bad times, but still I have stronger connections to the nice times. I really need a rewind button. I want to go back and do over one or two things,to make a better effort, be a more insightful mother. The times where we were together, cozy and warm, playing and bonding, mean more to me as the years go by. I want to make sure my friends slow down and appreciate the times of chaos and tornadoes and enjoy it. For now I will live through them and their "snowbooking" reports of it all. I will look at the pictures of all the kids bundled up and rolling in the snow,the short dogs in deep snow, the famous Weather Rock and it's reports, the at-the-end-of-the-rope musings of the mothers, the here I go-a-shoveling words of the dads and remember.

Sweet is better than sour.