Just a Dusting

As I'm getting my younger son's lunch ready, I usually do so with the sound of the local news playing in the background. It gives me a chance to catch up with the world that lies beyond our front door.

Scooter rarely pays attention to the news nor rarely shows interest in anything that isn't animated. But let him hear that one word, yes, that word of joy, that word he's been waiting for, that simple four letter word; and suddenly the excitement that comes from within Scooter is no longer containable.

Mommies everywhere know this word. To them it is defined as a day without breaks, a day where we have to look for our car even though we know it's still parked in the driveway, a day where every towel in the linen closet will be used to keep floors dry, provide an extra place for boots, and wipe noses. Today we will plead with our husbands not to go to work, not because it's too dangerous, but because we could use a little extra help on the home front.

That word, that awesome word is SNOW!

Scooter jumped from a four foot stool at the kitchen island before the weather man had a chance to pronounce the last syllable. He was so overwhelmed with excitement that even the dog was wondering what had gotten into him. He took pride in reminding me every five minutes not to forget that it was going to snow the next day. He begged me to dig out the new snow tube Santa had bought the boys for Christmas. "You have to blow it up Mom," he pleaded. "Do it now, do it now...please!"

We picked up Potter from school together. Scooter told him the good news right away. "It's going to snow tomorrow!" Potter lit up from ear to ear. He too reminded me of my motherly duty to blow up the new snow tube.

The weatherman predicted 3 to 6 inches. Normally a snow storm would be a burden, but this one was coming on a Saturday so I didn't have to worry about school and I would have Hubby home to help me shovel.

We decided to take the kids out to dinner that night. You can guess the topic of conversation. It's so nice to have finally arrived at that age where you can take the kids out to eat and you no longer have to worry about high chairs, diaper changes, feedings etc. Although we're still working through the temper tantrum stages, we avoided those as well.

As soon as we hit home the kids continued to remind us that the snow tube still needed to blown up. As I removed it from the box I swore angels were singing. The children were mesmerized by its sight. Frankly, the smell of plastic made me a bit lightheaded, but I unfolded the snow tube for two across my lap and began the long task of blowing 20 lbs. of air from my lungs. A quarter of the way through Hubby offered to finish while I took my bath (and regained consciousness).

By the time I returned the snow tube had completely taken over my living room. Both boys were practicing the different poses they would be using once they hit the snow.

When we woke up the next morning it was flurrying, and there was a a dusting of snow covering the ground. Apparently through the night the forecast had changed and we weren't going to receive a storm after all. What the heck? How do I explain this to the kids? Someone should grab that darn weatherman by the neck!

We patiently waited a few hours until around 10am. The kids were at the window when I finally said: "O.K. everyone find your boots, it's time to go outside!" The kids began screaming. "Can we use our sled Mom," they asked?

"No, but we're going to have some fun," I said.

Believe it or not, there were no fights. In fact, they actually forgot about the sled. And boy did we have fun. We spent the time throwing snow balls, running and laughing. We ended our playtime with a cup of hot chocolate topped with marshmallow.

Well, it wasn't the big snow storm we were all hoping for; it was something much much better!

I Never Knew His Name

As we run here and there during this holiday season, we often find ourselves getting lost in the hustle and bustle. But as this story will demonstrate, it's not always the holidays that keep us busy, but rather just life in general.

How many times have you driven away from your home and wondered just who lives in that house three doors down? We often take the time to meet our next door neighbors, but beyond that, many of us do not know the families who live on our street.

Case in point happened to me sometime in 1987. I was in eighth grade. We just had a snow storm so there was no school that day. My brother and I with a few friends decided to go and offer to shovel some sidewalks. Most of our neighbors had already gotten a start on the job so the idea of paying someone to do it for them never crossed their mind.

We made it half way around the corner when we happened on a house with a large driveway. The man who lived there took one look at the children carrying shovels and called us over. He offered $20 to shovel the whole driveway. Each of us would receive $5.00. We were happy,he was happy; and so we began.

We seriously underestimated the size of the driveway. Turns out, the job took a couple of hours to finish. But once done, we received our $20, and our neighbor could now pull his pickup truck safely onto the road.

We took our new found riches down to the corner store where we invested in hot chocolate and some goodies. We didn't shovel another driveway that day.

Every now and again we would see the man driving his pickup down our street. We'd give a wave, he would give a nod. I never knew his name.

Now twenty some years later I return to my old neighborhood when visiting my parents. I've seen the man in the pickup truck (now replaced by a newer model, but still a pickup). Some time over the years we stopped waving. Maybe it was the years that passed between those short meetings. We both grew older, and didn't recognize each other any longer as the old man in the driveway or the child holding her shovel.

I received word the other day that there was a fire in my old neighborhood. Turns out the house belonged to the old man in the pickup. I drove by only to find what was left of the beautiful rancher that once sat around the corner from my home. Now covered in soot, most of the windows had be broken out by the firefighters. The man was working night shift when the fire broke out. His wife was not so lucky. From what I've gathered, she is still in the hospital being treated for smoke inhalation. The sight barely resembled what I remember that cold snowy day as me, my brother and our friends carved a path in the snow.

The world is a strange place. We hold our children so close, teaching them to fear strangers. Even our own neighbors take a back seat to our systems of protection, and the high fences we build around ourselves.

Take time this holiday season. Wave to a stranger. Meet a new neighbor. Or even better... shovel a driveway.