Snow Days Rock!

What is it about snow days that makes us all so excited??? I don't think that it's just the fact that we don't have to get out of the house and go to work or school...and yes, I realize that people who work in other areas besides schools still have to go to work unless it's a blizzard situation! I really think that the excitement is the left over emotions from childhood. We remember the night when the snow starts falling and we went to bed dreaming of a foot of snow, and waking up to our parent telling us that we had a SNOW DAY! The idea of staying in our p.j.s and sipping hot chocolate until it was time to go outside and sled, and make snowmen and snow forts stocked with snowballs with which to nail the neighborhood kids was so exciting and somehow induced a frenetic energy!!


We were lucky as kids because our Mom didn't work outside the home. She made everything so much fun! She would make us homemade hot chocolate on snow days. I can smell it warming on the stove now! Dad worked in St. Louis, so he left the house long before we woke up, especially during bad weather. He'd usually leave between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. to get there on time. He was a projects engineer for St. Louis  County Highway and Traffic. So, no matter what...he went to work. Saturdays were great because Dad was home too, and sometimes we could talk him into going out into the snow with us! But, it was usually short lived!! However, our older sister, Evanne and our sister in law, Becky were usually around for the fun!! 


We'd wax the bottom of the toboggan until our hands hurt to be sure that it would glide across the snow and ice!!! For those of you who don't know what a toboggan is, it's a sled, but it doesn't have runners or skis like a typical sled. It sits right on the ground. Hence, the big waxing job to make sure it would glide!!! It also can carry several people at once. At least ours did. It has parallel wooden slats that curve up at the front into a J shape. There are shorter pieces of wood that cross the parallel slats and section off "seats".  There was a rope hooked into the J front section of ours, but steering was really nonexistent!


During one snowstorm, we had lots of ice and snow followed by more ice! It was soooo cold, Mom wouldn't let Michele and myself go outside because we were quite little, but Evanne and Becky did. I can remember standing up on the couch and looking out of the big picture window with Michele and watching them ice skate on the street! Of course, there were lots of slips and falls outside which prompted lots of giggles inside. I can still remember the feeling of wanting to be out there ice skating with them soooo badly that I almost couldn't contain myself!! That memory is one of my favorites from my childhood!


Well, now at the age of 45, I still get excited about possible snow days, but I'm more focused on making sure there's plenty of gas in the cars, food in the pantry, laundry detergent in the laundry room and toilet paper in the bathrooms!! :) If we do indeed get a little snow today as predicted and quite a bit of snow and ice on Sunday night and Monday as predicted, I want to make sure that we are prepared! I can guarantee that any snow days in the future here at the Devos household will involve John and myself drinking hot chocolate in our p.j.s and watching the next episodes of LOST on dvd!! We didn't watch the series when it was on TV, but are hooked now that Chris and Sarah loaned us all 6 seasons on dvd!! So, that's what our snowday will entail!! :)


I can only hope that your snowdays are as enjoyable as mine have been and will be!!!

45 Years of observations!

Today is my 45th birthday. Here are some random observations I've made.


No matter how old you are, it's FUN to get birthday well wishes. It's 8:30a.m. and my sister called and sang to me and I've had a half hour conversation with one of my best friends from high school, Steve Fowler. 


My skin is sagging on my face. Maybe it's because I've lost 62 pounds, but it's still sagging. This...I don not like.


I've discovered that if you spread mustard with a knife instead of just squeezing it out of the bottle, that it does not spread evenly. But, I still like to spread it because the clumps of mustard don't work for me. I want to taste it with every bite of my sandwich.


Routine is the key to humans having a happy existence. We crave routine. Whether it's brushing and flossing before you get into the shower each morning, or doing the laundry on Saturday mornings. We need a routine. However, if this routine is not sprinkled with fun interruptions, like staying in bed with your significant other for WHATEVER:) reason when you're supposed to be doing something else, then the routine becomes a bummer.


Kids have changed. I realize that the differences from the 1950's kids growing up to us who grew up in the 70's/80's was significant. But I don't think those differences can hold a candle to the ones that I've observed in what I call the "technology children". They lack certain skills that we all just took for granted. They don't communicate verbally well at all. When they meet someone, it is rare that I see a handshake or that I hear them say "It's nice to meet you, so and so." WE were taught that when you meet someone, you say "It's nice to meet you" and repeat their name so that you won't forget it. The kids seem very distant and removed and I blame it on texting, messaging and all that jazz. Even though that may not be what is causing it, I'm going to blame it anyway. Oh...and another thing, I think texting, messaging and spell check shortcuts are why they are such horrible spellers too.


Fruits infused with other fruit juices are awesome. Take the grapple for example. It's an apple infused with grape juice, and they are delicious. Bethanie Ernst, G.B., turned me on to these. (When Bethanie student taught with me, and lived with John and myself during that time, we dubbed her "go-fer bitch" because she was always running to the store to get something for school or home, or she was running to get drinks for us, or picking up my school mail so I wouldn't have to walk, etc.) She was a fantastic student teacher and is now a fantastic choir director, and we love her very much! But back to the fruit juice infused fruits....try them. You'll love them.


At the age of 18, the highlight of my day was getting a call from one of my friends asking me to meet them or go somewhere with them. At the age of 45, the highlight of my day is singing songs with my 4 year old niece at naptime. :)


Being 45 doesn't feel any different from any other age, except that I know that in 5 years, I'll be eligible for AARP.  So the significant ages in my life were 10- I started my period, 16-I got my license and became FREE, 18-I could vote, graduated high school and started college, 21- could LEGALLY drink alcohol, 23-started my career, 25-my Dad died, 28-got married, 35-got Rheumatoid Arthritis, and today...45- I have yet to see what is in store for this age! Who knows, maybe this year I'll go through menopause and STOP having periods!!! :) If you're offended by this, get over it. Every female goes through it, just like every man knows what masturbation is. So, don't be all nose in the air and think "I can't believe she just said that!" I am who I am and I figure at 45, I can say whatever I want on MY BLOG. :)


My last observation on my birthday is this. Things happen to us. Horrible things, wonderful things....things happen. How we handle these different events is what defines us as individuals. We don't always handle them the same way...it depends on where we are in our lives, but our character pretty much defines how we'll react in any situation. We choose our paths for the most part. Today, I'm choosing to be happy, loving, encouraged, encouraging and inspired. I can only hope that you will do the same. 


Thanks for reading, friends. :) Love and Hugs. And thanks for my birthday greetings!!