We've Got Snow

Has it really been a week since I've been over here? I type that like I'm really shocked over it. You'd think literally being snowed and iced in for over a week now, I'd be writing like crazy. Everybody's doing it. I see how you guys are. But me? Not so much. Don't real writer's actually pay money to escape to situations like this, so that they CAN write? I am so not a real writer in real life. I think it's maybe, could be, probably is because I write about stuff we're doing and I've literally been living in my sweats for about nine days now, pretty much not doing much. At all.

I'm starting to get a little nuts over it too. Can you say cabin fever? I had a dream last night that we walked to Peet's Coffee from the house (about 1.3 miles, uphill). And I guess we left A-girl at home. She was napping. I guess we thought it was okay to do that in dreamland (I'm dreaming here, people). On the way back, we started freaking out that we had left A-girl home. In the dream, I'm ranting all the way home how I can't believe that neither one of us suggested that would be a bad idea. It was a looooong, panic-driven run/walk home--very, very slow in snow boots and two feet of snow, dragging our 7-yr-old along, trying not to spill our Peppermint Mocha's. We get home and the front door is open. I'm sure we've lost our daughter forever (or she's at the neighbor's). I even imagined her calling 911, cuz we've recently been going over how to do that (in case I fall down. It happens. A lot.). I imagined my Peppermint Mocha being the last luxury I'd have, given that I was going to jail.

But she's there, like she just woke up from her nap. Oblivious to the fact that we abandoned her for coffee. And we just pretend like we're good parents and all is right in dreamland again. And then I wake up. Oh and at some point, in this dream, we paid off the credit card. Such a mixture of emotions.

It has been stressful too. In the mix of all the weather obstacles, hubby's grandmother went into the hospital, for pneumonia. She's been there a week now. We've managed to brave the storm and the roads (snow tires and chains, our car is a champ) to get down and visit her. She's very frail and small in the hospital bed. Child-like. It's hard to see. She's depressed. Pissed. Being 84 and sick, stinks. I would be mad too. Especially at Christmas. It's her favorite. She's the one in the family who overdoes it. She is Santa's #1 side kick. We haven't been allowed to go to her house for weeks now, for fear the girls would figure it out.

With the weather, all of our church activities have been cancelled. O was supposed to have choir concerts on Saturday and Sunday, at church. She's been practicing for weeks. It was going to be a big deal. So every chance she gets, she sings for us. We took her to the hospital so she could sing for grandma. She sang "When Christmas Comes To Town" to grandma to try and cheer her up. Grandma seemed to enjoy it. She closed her eyes and listened. I can imagine it made her a little sad too.

We are ready for Christmas though. I feel like I'm forgetting something, because I'm never this organized. I'm never done with stuff. We've actually been able to enjoy the season. The togetherness. We've been together day in and and day out for over a week now. School was cancelled all of last week, beginning Christmas vacation a week early. The snow has made it that much more Christmasy. We've been taking walks at night. Everything looks so Norman Rockwell with the snow, and with the Christmas lights reflecting off of the snow.

We've been old man coughy--for weeks now. Totally fine, otherwise, but we sound--good. And I finally got sick with a head cold for the last few couple of days. I'm just gross, more than anything. The couch is my friend. Nothing's getting done. The house is a mess. The bathrooms are screaming to be cleaned. I mentioned I've been in sweats for nine days, right? The girls have been in their pj's for two days now and I haven't even thought about brushing their hair. They've been in and out of snow pants and hats and boots and eaten a lot of snow. We've got a little routine going on with all of that. Go potty, bundle up, play outside until they can't feel their cheeks, come in have hot cocoa, double noodle soup and go find something to get out, play with and not clean up. Rinse and repeat. They made an ice castle with the sheets of ice hubby broke off of our driveway. We've got food and wine and board games--I just don't think I could ask for more, except the ability to breath through my nose.

Just in case I don't get on here before Christmas, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! I hope you are with people you love and feeling festive, maybe living in your sweats and dreaming you paid off your credit card too.