Oh Happy Day!

ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, AAAAAAALELUUUUUUIAAAAAAA!!!!!

Today is a snow day....a bonus day....a freebie. An extra Saturday, thrown in after Tuesday. Well, for students and stay-at-home moms it is. Well, maybe I should clarify that...stay-at-home moms with kids over 14. For you moms with younger kids, it might mean more work than rest because those younger kids are higher maintenance. Sorry! After you have survived the terrible-twos, sassy-sevens, and tenacious-twelves then, and only then, will you be able to enjoy a true snow day. The true goal of a high schooler on a snow day is to fly as low under the radar as possible. Sleeping in....staying in their room....being quiet, and not looking or stating "I'm bored." Nothing strikes fear in a teenager more than the thought of their mother giving them something to do on a snow day....like help your dad shovel the snow, do some extra studying or homework, or clean your room.

We found out last night that school was cancelled via Cameron and the Facebook hotline. Of course, due to the source of the information (teenagers with a vested interest), this was going to require further confirmation (at least on my part). So, we logged on to the school website. Then we received an automated call from the school district. Then we saw it scroll across the bottom of the TV screen during the news. Aint technology grand? Ding.....bonus day confirmed.

Of course, then this raises the question of what is a better bonus? Finding out the night before and knowing in advance you don't have to set your alarm, or finding out the morning of and then crawling back under the cozy covers? Hmmmm.....that is a tough one. When I was in high school, we didn't know jack until you got up to your alarm, dialed the rotary phone, and then tried to get through the myriad of busy tones on the school hotline. Nowadays, kids know school is cancelled before the superintendent does. Works for me!

Fortunately, for little Eddie, he has a wonderful new boss that allows him to work out of the house on occasions such as this. That's the other wonderful part of technology (sometimes). Email, cell phones, conference calls, webcams, etc., all make it possible to do your work from home as opposed to physically spending hours making it into the office and then more hours making it back home. So, being the good little employee he is, he set his alarm and got up hours before the Camster and me. Then, after taking care of some business, the testosterone kicked in and he headed out to the garage to bond with his big-ass snowblower. He really hasn't had much opportunity to spend time with it this winter, so today was a special day. Of course, I had to follow him outside in my robe to witness this manly moment. Suffice it to say, he did not find it amusing when I asked him why he was wearing safety goggles. "Do you think you might get your eye poked out by some flying snowflakes?" At which point, he cranked it up so as to quickly drown out my voice. Being the good neighbor he is (and seizing the opportunity to spend more time with his toy), he continued to clear the neighbor's driveway, sidewalk and mailbox areas after taking care of ours. He has now showered, shave, and has real clothes on and is back at his computer working. Such dedication. I'd for sure be working in my pajamas.

I checked in with Alex, and although they experienced the same snow fall as us, classes go on as regularly scheduled. Snow days at college are very few and far between. I would think that when you are on a campus of only 1,200, they are practically nonexistent due to the superior snow removal skills of the maintenance crew that my tuition dollars pay for.

I plan to spend my snow day hopping on the treadmill and then perhaps catching up on some of my DVR'd shows. A couple of those include Oprah episodes that I taped to watch with Ed and the boys. Today might be a good day for that. One is on texting (and cell phoning in general) while driving and the other is on diabetes and how it is becoming a growing epidemic in our society due to poor eating habits. For me, education is key and these two topics provide a teachable moment. They hate it when I watch Oprah.

As far as I know, Stanley will be spending his snow day like he spends his rain days, sun days, and every other damn day....sleeping, eating, and pooping. Aaaaahhhh...the life of a cat. He rarely smiles, like the cats in the photo above, but I believe he secretly is thrilled with his life, as I am with mine.