Ah, the first snow day of the new year! The kids are so excited - they can't wait to don their snow gear and plunge out into the snowy world for fun fun fun! I personally look forward to putting layer upon layer of shirts, hats, socks, mittens, and snow-proof outerwear on my children - 30 minutes of effort for an hour of fun. Yes, I have finally reached the point where the 30 minutes of snow-garbing is less than the time they spend outside. Except for my 3-year-old. It's his first year where snow is actually fun, but I don't see him lasting out there more than 10 minutes. When they were two or under, my children would reappear in the house within 5 minutes of their release into the winter wonderland to announce that they're cold and they're finished and can I please help them take all their soggy things off. So, if your children aren't quite old enough yet, or your children become cold easily and can't hack playing outside in the frigid temper...
Do you remember when Walmart first installed the self-checkout lines? They were so cool! Over a decade ago, I went with my future husband to pick up a few items at Walmart and had a funny surprise: while I was waiting for him to check out his purchases, I leaned up against the checkout area. When he placed his purchase there, the machine loudly declared, "UNEXPECTED ITEM!" Josh looked at me with a funny grin on his face and said, "Yep - You're my unexpected item!" He realized all the items had specific weights and my leaning on the scale (of which I was unaware) caused the alarm to go off. Neither one of us expected to find the perfect match, yet there we were! As married life has progressed, I've heard the mental shout of "UNEXPECTED ITEM" many times. After two years of marriage, we decided it was time to try to have a baby. When the baby came, it was an Unexpected Item. I thought having a baby meant having a sweet little someone...
I recall my husband's first adventure with our daughter - he wanted to take her away for a few hours to give me a break and show her off to his best friend. I packed up the diaper bag and prepared a bottle, clicked her snugly in her carseat, then kissed them both goodbye. I cried. I know, sappy - but it was the first time since the day she was born that we'd been separated. I prayed for their safety - I couldn't have the two people I cared most about in the world getting in a car accident. It just wouldn't do! I spent the next few hours washing laundry, catching up on dishes, and resting on the couch. Something I hadn't done in months. When he returned, he was shell shocked. He said the baby was fine on the ride up, but began crying after his arrival and refused to take a bottle. After a half hour of crying, neither of the men could hear each other, so he gave up and came home. Defeated. Discouraged. But I ...
Comments
Post a Comment