Tag: Snowmen

Christmas in September

To say that the past few days have been stressful is an understatement. There have been some very good moments and I tried to just take them all in. However, something was on my mind all weekend.

I’m not going to get into detail on that. I could, but I won’t. Let me just state that it is stress related to things outside of my home life. Read into that however you wish.

At any rate, after a particularly emotional and crappy Monday that was the culmination of all the things on my mind, I needed something – anything! My Monday evening walk with the kids helped. I was out in the neighborhood, counting squirrels, saying hello to our “puppy friends” and listening to AJ babble and Ella sing.

Sam knew the weekend and Monday had taken a toll on me. She never said it was her plan, but she suggested taking a trip to Bronner’s in Frankenmuth to look for our annual “ornament hunt.” Bronner’s is “The World’s Largest Christmas Store” and I have blogged about it before. You can read about that here:

“Christmastown”

We packed the family up in the car after Sam got home and we made the short drive there. It was the perfect day to go. Tuesday morning in September. Sure, there were people there, but not the normal crowd that is there. The sounds of Christmas music were playing through the outside speakers as we walked in.

(Johnny Mathis’ version of Marshmallow World was playing as I walked in. I found myself thinking that the Dean Martin version is FAR superior to this version. As a bonus, Dean’s version played before we left!)

I hadn’t thought about it but this was Andrew’s first trip to Bronner’s. He was in awe of all the lights and him and Ella were anxious to touch everything!!

Every year, we get an ornament that marks some big event that happened in the past year. We have an engagement ornament, a marriage ornament, a mother-to-be ornament, and two “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments. So what big event could we commemorate this year?

Neither one of us changed jobs. We didn’t get a new house or new car. Now that I think about it, the only big thing that happened this year was my vasectomy! I doubt they had an ornament for that, but then again, they have thousands of ornaments for just about every thing! They probably DO have something for that!!! Maybe I will call and ask …

Instead of an ornament, we got a snowman family plaque. You have probably seen what I am talking about. It has mom, dad, and snow-kids.

The one above is not the one we got, but it is similar. So we had them put our family name on it and then each of the snow kids had their name written on them. It came out really cute and we’ll either put it on the mantel or hang it on the main entry door.

Next year, Sam has said that she wants the kids to go and each pick out their own ornaments. I think that is a great idea and a good way to make it a tradition. We want them to have that experience and then every year when the holiday rolls around, they can look back on the ornaments and relive memories.

The kids were both getting a bit antsy, so as soon as the plaque was personalized, we headed out. We stopped for photo ops and walked outside. As we exited the building, there was a huge Santa Claus. Andrew saw it and began to point to it. It was a perfect (and frame worthy) photo.

It was just want I needed to get my mind off all that transpired over the past few days. A welcome distraction with those that I love.

One thing is for sure. Despite all the feelings that are churning around inside me, especially as I think about things, I think on the reasons why I keep going. The people who mean the most to me. I think of my wife and her never ending support and love. I think of my two older sons, and of course, the two little blessings who accompanied me on our trip to “Christmas in September” …

THEY are why I continue to do what I do. THEY are the reason I need to focus on getting healthy. THEY are the reason I am happy.

No More Snow Days??!!

Flashback: A winter day in the late 1970’s. At 6:30am, the phone rings. It is our neighbor, who works for the school district. She informs my mom or dad that school has been cancelled for today. We know before it even hits the TV or radio! It’s a SNOW DAY!!

Back to today – 2020.

I read a New York Times article today that echoed what I had read in a few other articles from our local newspapers and TV stations. The “Snow Day” is probably a thing of the past, thanks to COVID-19 and the pandemic!

I wish I could say that this was not true, but it looks like that is exactly the case. Thanks to the schools being forced to close to “flatten the curve,” and the technology for remote learning, there is no reason for school to not proceed on days when the weather is bad. Snow days will be replaced with virtual learning.

I do understand that going virtual solves the problem of adding on days to the end of the school year, because of too many snow days. No kid wants to have to go to school later than they have to. However, I think that by making every snow day a virtual day robs kids of certain things that they may only get to do on snow days.

I look back fondly on the snow days of my childhood! There were so many things to do!

Sledding

It was always fun to gather up some kids and find a good hill to sled down. Every so often, someone’s mom would pack up the car and kids from the neighborhood and take us to a HUGE hill somewhere! These were good times!!!

Snowmen

When the snow was “good packing”, you could bet that almost every kid was out on their front lawn making a snowman! I remember looking for all the perfect things for his eyes, arms, and such. We had an old beat up hat we would put on ours. It was always dirty, too, because it would pick up all the grass and twigs that were on the lawn.

Forts

Again, if the snow was the right texture, you could go out and build one hell of a snow fort! I have blogged about this in the past. We had stuff to make blocks and build the forts with. We really had some amazing snow forts. I can guarantee that every snow fort I ever built was built on a snow day!!

Snowball Fights

If you’re building a fort, you know you are gearing up for war! There is bound to be one amazing snowball fight! You’d stock that fort up with as many snowballs as you could make in preparation for your enemies. Who didn’t love a good snowball fight?!

Skating

While I never learned to ice skate, I know many people who did. Before I moved to Warren, there was a pond that was next to our house. When it would freeze up in the winter, people skated on the ice. I would go out in my snow boots and slide all over the ice. What a blast!!!

Snow Angels

Whether you are a child or an adult, there is just something fun about flopping down in the snow and making a snow angel! I am SO looking forward to doing this with my daughter!!

It makes me sad to think that some kids will never know the fun and excitement of getting a snow day. It seems that technology has robbed children of yet another thing.

Perhaps before banning snow days completely, districts could allow for one or two days for snow days? Teachers could use the day to adjust lesson plans, or something like that…. I pray that snow days don’t vanish like a sledder at the bottom of a hill….

Maybe I will just have to make it a point to “call in sick” for my kids so they can enjoy a good snow day in the future…..