Cold Hands Cold Hearts

What more can I say about this weather that hasn't already been said? It's been bitterly cold. It's been snowy. School has been closed more than any other winter. Our hands are all dry and cracked. My cheeks are windburned. We are sleeping with flannel sheets, down comforters and wearing socks. I thought things were looking up when this week's temperatures were going to be above freezing but no. The school has been closed all week because of a frozen water main that nobody can seem to fix. That's right - my kids haven't been to school since last Friday.

We've stayed at home this week with homework and reading and a lot more Minecraft for the kids (and me) that I'd like to admit. It's gotten to the point that, when I saw the cat staring at me today, I thought we was judging me for sitting on the couch again.

Last night, it snowed again and it is the heavy, wet snow that comes with warmer temperatures. This morning, I scraped the ice off the car windows and dug out the car not because I was going anywhere but because of the snow emergency - I was parked on the wrong side of the street. I still need to shovel and rake the roof. Yes, I live in a state where raking your roof is a thing. Miguel asked, "How many days will we have to make up at the end of the year?" I said, "I don't know but I'll miss you when I'm at the pool in July and you're still in school." I thought back to our days at the pool, to the sun and sunscreen and ice cold drinks late in the day. It seems impossible that we'll ever have that again.

I have resigned myself to the cold and the snow but it's hard for my shoulders not to droop a bit when even the trees seem to be sagging under the weight of this endless winter.