What to Do with Your Kids on a Snow Day
Yesterday I got the call at 6 a.m.: snow day, no school. Michele was away watching Devon ski race at the Junior Olympics, and Nikki and India were staying with us. I was relieved I got the call before I made all five lunches.
It’s always such a nice change when the girls come to visit. Nikki is an eleven-year-old nurturer and teacher, and the children follow her lead all day. I love listening to and learning from her as she patiently and logically defuses the arguments that break out, usually between Axel and Thumper. India, who for the first six years of her life wished she were a boy, teaches the boys how to burp and shows them that not all girls are delicate. The girls add a softer element to the mix, a touch of finesse amid all the craziness.
As the snow fell, the children slowly emerged from their rooms, still in their fuzzy pajamas. Nikki lay under a blanket by the fire, and one by one each child crawled under with her. Immediately, the imaginative games began. The characters have developed since they were toddlers, but the names remain the same. Most of my rules went out the window so they could have a day of unfiltered fun. All day I had to guess who they were as they came squeaking up to me in little voices. First they were baby polar bears trying not to go extinct. Next they stretched their tops over their bodies so only their feet showed and became little people called “Mibbets.” About every twenty minutes the game transformed into something new, their minds bursting with ideas.
Between games, they went outside and built snow forts and snow people. Hootie-Hoo was a few steps behind all day, running to me to get his clothes put on and taken off. He’d yell at me to hurry and accuse me of pulling his hair as I put on the helmet and goggles he insisted on wearing. Once he was finally plopped outside, the older kids took care of him together.
My job was to tend to the emotionally and physically wounded. Hootie-Hoo told me hugs were better than ice for making him feel better, so I was doling out hugs all day. I was also the short-order cook. The kids wrote menus and placed orders at “Jilly’s Restaurant,” sitting at the counter watching me prepare their food.
In the afternoon, Thumper turned on the music and became our DJ. He put on a show, gyrating his hips and singing into a microphone. Clearly he inherited his father’s dancing talent. The girls and I exchanged smiles as we watched our emerging rock star.
Baddy came home early, knowing I might need my Bikram yoga fix. I was torn between a wonderful evening with all the kiddos and a little meditative stretching in a hot room. I chose the latter and flew away, returning refreshed and ready to put all my sweet children to bed. I’m lucky to have my little nieces to satisfy my desire for girls in the house. Baddy is lucky too, because without them, chances are I’d still be nudging him for one last try for a baby girl.
