Getting into Field Position

Snow day like the
big kids

It feels like we are doing a lot of punting in 2019. Last year felt rather stabilized in terms of limited “unexpected” days off for the kids. We still had an occasional surprise – but it was generally manageable. This feeling of control is probably one of the reasons I felt comfortable going for the new job.

Well … joke is on me. Because basically since I started it, we’ve been in a perpetual state of chaos. We’ve had polar vortexes, a million snow days, more days of snow when they did go to school and traffic was insane, and now Dec’s preschool teacher ended up in the hospital and has been closed for over a week. Oy.

However, unlike years past, we have a lot going for us. For the first time (ever) in our parenting life, Mike has a job that has some degree of flexibility – and he can occasionally work from home. More importantly, when he can’t, they don’t mind the kids coming for the day. We also don’t have babies anymore and the girls have figured out a decent way to handle their day when either Mike or I are working from home with them.

Friday was Disney day.
They went as newsies - with
borrowed hats from the theater

So last Thursday, when we had yet another school cancellation for snow (I told you guys we weren’t done with snow!), I figured I had it covered. Until I got the text that Ms. A was in the ER and I would also have Dec. Yikes! Now we know that D has to learn the ropes of "stay home" life as he’ll start kinder this fall. But I figured I had a couple more months run-time before that. So again, the joke was on me.

We started out rough … he was not on board with the “mom ignores us” strategy that the girls and I have established. But as the day went on, he started figuring it out. It was a good preview for next winter when we will inevitably repeat some of this choreography. The fact that it was a snow day versus a cold day was the saving grace. The kids and their buddies spent most of the afternoon outside playing. They did at one point ask me if their friends could come inside to play – and I swiftly vetoed the SIX kids parading around my upstairs while I tried to concentrate.

Declan’s at our back up day care for the week and Ms. A is on the road to recovery. Friday is a holiday at work, conveniently aligning with a "no school" day (seriously!?! do the girls GO to school?) and Dec's continued hiatus from preschool. There is no snow in the forecast at this moment. For now, the punt has left us in decent field position. We’ll see what next week brings …