If We Weren't Snowed In ….

The latest snowstorm, which kept the kids home from school for the umpteenth day, has given me much family time. Rarely can I appreciate such interesting observations that happen only when we are snowbound. In the spirit of an OBXer who began the thread,"If We Weren't Snowed In …." I realized that without these snow days, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to:

• play Bananagrams with the kids, who used their letter tiles to construct such words as "twerk", "pot", "weed", "fart", and "burp".
• go sledding with my middle-school-aged daughters (who usually are aghast to be with me in public) and bruise my tailbone by sailing over a tiny ice ramp and landing on my rump.
• open the chimney damper (thus letting in cold air) to build a fire for the girls, only to see them abandon it after a few minutes … and then feel compelled sit by the fire so it does not go to waste.
• watch my husband and other male neighbors bond over a toy -- the snowblower.
• see these same men stand forlornly with shovels at the ends of their respective driveways, inciting the pity and compassion of the snowplow operator to haul snow away from (instead of block in) each driveway.

So although the kids have lost numerous school days recently, I have gained many educational insights during these snow days. How much longer is winter and how much more can I learn?