I really hope that by the time you read this blog, it will be outdated.  We typically submit our blogs about 5 days before it appears, so I start writing about a week ahead.  (Usually.)

So here it is, Tuesday.  And we have a snow day.  Our second school snow day, but in reality, the fourth day of being more or less homebound because of the weather.  That’s four days with three teenage boys and one pre-teenage girl in a house that currently feels like a one bedroom apartment.

My beloveds don’t lack for food to eat.  The refrigerator and cabinets are full of food.  Unfortunately, we ran out of pizza on day two, and my boys have an unusual vision problem that makes it difficult for them to recognize any other type of food in the freezer.  Hence, the plaintive cry: “Mom, there’s NOTHING to eat!”

And although you’d think, by the tone and volume of their interactions, that it is painful for them to spend time together, somehow they continue to gravitate to the same spots.  They have alternatives.  Like separate rooms.  A basement.  But no, they must all be in the family room.  Arguing over the laptop.  The TV.  The couch.  The floor. The air.

Sibling rivalries bubble up.  Old resentments rise.  The crescendo grows until, inevitably, the youngest one caves and cries.  Mom steps in, angry because she’s trying to research and write articles for clients, who no doubt don’t care that her kids are home for a snow day and causing havoc in her family room.

Mom brings out her own pre-recorded message:

“If you all can’t find anything to do, I’ll find something for you to do….” Which of course involves toilets, brushes and cleaning solutions.

Then Mom answers their inevitable questions:

“No! We’re not going out for pizza today.”

“No! We’re not going to order pizza today.”

“No! I’m not going to go to the store to buy frozen pizza and bring it home to fix for lunch today.”

Alas, somehow we end up getting through the day, past the rough passages, recovering from the arguments, ready to see if tomorrow will yield a snow day (please, no), a delay or (maybe, maybe) a regular start time.

So I hope that this week will be just a memory by the time this blog comes out.  But here’s the thing…according to the weather forecast for the end of this week---more snow is on its way.  Gulp.  I’d better go stock up on frozen pizza.

(P.S.—If I’m wrong, and the day you’re reading this is gloriously sunny and 50 degrees, and your kids went to school on time, then let this blog just serve as a reminder of what could have been--again!)