First Big Snow Storm of 2022

 

                     Well, tonight we're getting our first significant snow storm of the season. Its officially a Nor' easter an its giving us a walloping. It just started and its not supposed to slow down til tomorrow night. Winds are expected to be 50 miles an hour. 

Next day:

When the kids were little I loved storms like this. We'd hunker down and play games and sometimes camp out in the living room if the power went out.

But now they are in their 20's and both have jobs that require them to show up no matter what. The roads are quiet except for the scraping of the snow plow that came by earlier. As i put the ketle on I wonder  why is it that hot chocolate always tastes better on days like this?

Yesterday and today I made sure my own mom had everything she needs for the next few days. She didn't want to wait out the storm at my home. She's warmer in her apartment.

We woke up to this...

                               

                                                             the front of my home

  

and this

                                                  my daughter's car

and this...

                                                       

son's car

and this.....

                                                    

                                                         There's a back yard there somewhere

and this...                                               

No, its not a picture of a baby parrot hatching out of an egg

I guess the snow on the roof is a little too much on my small kitchen extension. We now have a leak on our ceiling.

So instead of playing in the snow with our kids like in the old days; they helped us dig out a bit.

But tomorrow....I can promise you I WILL be starting a snowball fight with my family. I don't care how old they all think they are.

                            

                                                       source

Stay-Home-From-School Day

 

               It's a cloudy cold day here on the East Coast. Its the kind of day where you just want to stay home, put on a thick blanket hoodie, watch old movies and eat homemade soup.

Yeah Its that kind of day. Stay-home-from school day. The kind where you weren't so sick you suffered, but sick enough for Mom to say..." Go back to bed, no school for you today"

                   

                                   source

I find myself yearning for that feeling of comfort and safety.

Did you have those days?

When I stayed home from school in the winter my mom always made a home-made soup for me.

Depending on what I was suffering from; It was either a simple broth or it was loaded with potatoes, ham or chicken. She substituted rice for noodles because she knew I hated when the noodle got really mushy. Yuck.

We watched Lets Make a Deal

                              

                                                       source

I slept for as long as I wanted

and.........

Ok, sorry for the interruption. Reality pushed in.  I had to stop typing to do grown up crap like clean and gasp at the time...and ultimately wonder what's for dinner. Cook,...groan at the laundry and then try to do it all again for my elderly mom.

I'm tired.

I need a stay-home-from-school sick day from 1972

Can I make a go fund me page for that?

...and if it's possible I want a baby blue Lanz flannel nightgown so I can pretend to be Laura Ingalls from Little house on the prairie, 

                                    

                                                      source

 ...and can someone throw in the Barbie Dream House that I always wanted too?....just sayin'.                       

                  

                                                                 source

Here's to sweet memories of having Mom all to myself and cheering for whoever won the grand prize behind door #3.

                                             

                     

                                                   source

            

Christmas 2021 Was a Bit Different

 

         Welp.... this "finding joy right where I am" thing is getting a bit hard. 

Serves me right for trying this at Christmas time. I mean what was I thinking? 

                     

                                                                           source

Everyone is getting sick with covid.

It seems everyday I hear of another friend or their family member at home with covid.

Right now I know of two friends and two friend's kids with it and then my own young adult child woke up feeling crappy. Its hard to get an appointment to get tested. 

My friends who work in the medical field are overwhelmed with cases.

My own daughter who works in a clinic says they are overrun with people needing tests and care. She came down with it right after Thanksgiving.

As it turns out, my son came down with Covid and so did my Husband. Unfortunately, My husband ended up in the ER on Christmas morning due to a scary complication.

I was not allowed to be there with him.

Thank God, he was out by late afternoon and we celebrated Christmas really late, fully masked and more than adequate distance from each other. With the help of my Instant Pot, Christmas dinner was made in record time and was eaten by my hubster and my son in their rooms... and my daughter and I ate together. My elderly mom stayed in her apartment safe from the scare of Covid, but still enjoyed a full Christmas meal I made for her. 

Then continued the insane task of caring for my quarantined family and elderly mom.

and this is where the finding of that elusive joy came in.

I was grateful that no family member got worse.

I was grateful that I had the energy to care for my family.

I was grateful that I or my mother did not get Covid as well.

I was also so grateful for the help of my sweet daughter as she pitched in to help with everything that needed to be done.

So my Joy came in the form of strength and endurance when usually I struggle with those very things.

I hope you have a healthy start to the new year and tell me...did you find joy today?

                    

                                                                     source