Snow Days

Holy Snow, Batman! Talk about a storm. School was let out two hours early on Tuesday and then there was no school at all on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It was so nice of the school district to call at 5 a.m. on Friday to let us know there was no school too! I mean, I think I could have figured it out when I looked at the window and saw more than a foot of the white stuff on my car. Yes, we got about two feet of snow. And we were without power from Thursday night to Sunday evening. It was wonderful (not at all). I tried to make the best of it. My oldest was going through television withdrawal. She didn't know what to do with herself. It was then that I explained to her that kids a hundred years ago didn't have television. We talked about people who lived without electricity and indoor plumbing (yikes!) I don't think she really got the message. I don't think kids believe their parents when they tell stories about "the old days". I don't even need six degree of separation to find someone who once used an outhouse or slept in a cold-water flat or shared a bed with their brothers. So, a day or two without TV wouldn't kill her, right? Right. It wouldn't kill her - it would kill me! Thankfully, the iPod had a very strong battery and that helped a little bit. And let me tell you how happy I was to get the phone call tonight that tomorrow is a regular full day of school!

Earrings

My oldest daughter turns 8 in a couple of weeks and as an early birthday gift she got her ears pierced yesterday. It was a milestone for her (and me!) and I probably looked like a dork taking pictures as she got it done. But, then the little one had to be just like her big sister and she got hers done too. Lavender hearts. Caty wanted skulls, but I finally convinced her to get diamonds. They are so excited. They are calling relatives and friends and couldn't wait to go to school today and show them off. I can totally remember getting my ears pierced twice at Caldor (yes, I'm showing my age!) and having them get infected both times. Finally, my dad took me and my older sister to a jeweler and had them done. That time, they took. I was 12 or 13 and was so jazzed. I can also remember being buzzed when my boyfriend's mom gave me a second hole and sitting on my toilet when my friend Krissy gave me a third hole. And, I didn't stop there - I got up to four and then did the top of my ear. Man, now that I think about it, if I were a teen now, I'd be one of those people with the cartilage piercings and I'd probably have an eyebrow or nose ring too. My dad always told me I would never be a lawyer with all those earrings in my ear and he was right - I never did become a lawyer!

Let me do it

One of the hardest things for me as a mom is letting my kids be independent. It must have something to do with me being a control freak. Yesterday, the oldest was doing her science fair project and you don't know how badly I wanted to grab that glue and stick the feathers on the board in the proper pattern rather than all willy nilly with glue showing through! See, control freak! I can remember a project I did in first grade where we had to write facts about ourselves on a large poster. Mine said something like My name is Elizabeth. I have brown eyes. I have brown hair. I am five years old. I love my sister. I was so proud of that thing. It was so neat and all the writing was correct. I get flashbacks to that whenever I watch my girls write. They have to work harder because they're left-handed, but neatness is not really a concern of theirs. And I wish it wasn't a concern of mine! Why am I so bothered? Why does it drive me nuts that every other little girl is wearing a dress to the dance and my daughter is wearing a skirt with non-matching shirt and knee-high boots? Or that the little one pairs pink and red and purple with silver open-toed shoes? I've at least gotten to the point where I allow them to pick out their own clothes, but I still wish they'd wear something "normal." Of course, if I did it, it would get done faster. If I did it, it would get done the way I want it. But what's so wrong with the way they want it? Why can't I just let them be who they want to be and not what I want them to be? My mom used to always tell me that children grow through you. You raise kids, but you can't make them. I guess that's why my mom didn't freak when I shaved my head or when I got a tattoo or when I dressed like a punk or whenever I did the silly things I did. She let me be me. I'm trying. I promise to keep working on letting go more each day. But, seriously, if my kids turn into those goth chicks, I might just lose it.