Saturday, February 07, 2004

Stupid snow day

My kids had a snow day yesterday, the third in four weeks. And I'm all for public safety and everything, but really, at least two of those days could just as well have been a delayed opening -- and if this particular weather had been occuring in the midwest instead of the northeast, it wouldn't have been cause for closure at all. A fat lot of weather wimps we are out here. And I've got kids just sittin' around because of it.

But really, I've made my peace with that. Disruptions in routine aren't as big a deal to my son as they once were, and days off from the middle-school shuffle are sort of a relief to my daughter, and I honestly don't mind missing our morning commute. Yesterday, though -- yesterday was a disappointing day to miss. Among the things that didn't happen because school didn't happen:

* Report card delivery. I've been checking the calendar for weeks, waiting for February 6, February 6, February 6 so I could see how my kiddos were doing in school, and now I have to wait three more days. Yeah, so okay, I have no life. What's your point?

* Announcement of who made All-City Band. I'm hoping my daughter's name is on that list, and she's hoping it's not, but that's a different story.

* Delivery of notes-to-the-teacher that I'd stayed up late Thursday night to write. I'd been putting them off for days, and was so proud to have gotten them done in time to get a response before the weekend. Ha! Foiled again.

* Library duty. Those afternoons working in my son's school library are prime spy time for me. I hate missing an opportunity to infiltrate.

* Bowling league. My daughter might not mind missing school, but what do you mean I can't go bowling? Not only did I have to listen to an evening's worth of whining, but now I have to spend my Saturday morning taking her out for consolation bowling. So why isn't it snowing today?

* First sixth-grade dance. My daughter had already decided not to go, but now with the event being rescheduled, I'll have two things to worry about: that she'll stick with her "I'm too scared of new things to try this" decision -- or that she won't, and she'll actually go to a dance with boys.

So alright, it's not as bad as the year when Valentine's Day was on a Friday before a week of vacation, and Friday was a snow day, and I was stuck with two dozen pink cupcakes and a bag-full of kiddie cards; and it's not as inconvenient as the snow day a few weeks ago that took a long-awaited IEP meeting with it; but it's frustrating. And really, why should my daughter be the only one who gets to whine?

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