A real snow day

Snow days were such a magical part of growing up. They were rare and unpredictable. This year I was afraid they might be a thing of the past. But fortunately our town decided to stick with snow days using the logic that a make-up day in June is more likely to be in-person would be better than a remote day now. So we had our first snow day during Covid and sure enough, it felt pretty normal.

The storm dumped the expected 12″+ of snow overnight and it now really looks like winter. The kids made plans with friends and got outside despite the chilly temperatures. Caroline spent the morning building a snow fort at the park and Hannah and her friends went to Nana’s house to sled down the hill. Both came home cold and tired and it felt so…normal.

Daisy was a little confused about why the world was white and fluffy this morning but she quickly figured out how to play in the snow. It was cute to watch her maneuver in the snow up to her belly and, like the kids, she was worn out by evening.

I spent the morning working (no change there) but took some time this afternoon and evening to get out and shovel. I actually really enjoying shoveling because it’s enforced exercise and doesn’t feel artificial. Late-winter ice storms can be miserable but early-winter fluffy storms are a great reason to be outside. I didn’t get to do enough playing in the snow today, but it still felt great to be outside doing something productive and not in my usual position of sitting inside.

The girls did miss one of their limited in-person school days today, but having that rare and special snow day was more than worth it.

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  Masks are for warmth too

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  Walking down the deserted street

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  The table looked like a cake

Things that went well today:

• My sister and her husband got Covid vaccines (they are both health care workers) which seems so cool to know someone who is getting vaccinated
• We managed to light the menorah for all 8 nights of Hanukkah – might be the first year we were home every single night
• It took stops at 2 stores las weekend but I found the right paper towels (Bounty), toilet paper (Charmin Soft), napkins (Bounty), and tissues (Plus+ with Lotion) – it’s the little things in life that make the difference

Things that did not go well:

• Covid cases continue to rise across the country in ways that are going to get a lot worse before they are better
• The country passed another grim milestone 300,000 covid deaths
• 800,000+ people newly applied for unemployment this week – as more restaurants close for the winter many people who were barely hanging on are going to be out of work

Random happy find from the web:

• Rhode Island has the highest per capita coronavirus rate in the world, but this tiny non-profit has grown from a tiny operation to feeding 35,000+ per week

‘Maybe this year we all don’t need 1,000 gifts,’ the Rev. George L. Ortiz Jr. said. ‘Let’s make sure that people to the left and the right of us can eat and keep the lights on.’

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/08/metro/covid-19-ravages-rhode-island-small-nonprofit-feeds-37000-people-week/

Cute puppy photo of the day:

Wishing she were out in the snow