Brownie Points

For Christmas we always go 'home' to my parent's house in N.C. They live on a beautiful little country farm with relatives dotting the gravel road to their house.

This year, we were excited at the chance a White Christmas. As most of you know, South Carolina is not snow central. We did get a couple inches last February but by noon the next day, it was mostly gone and the boys were in short sleeves. We let them play outside at 11 pm the night of the snow as we knew it had precious few hours of life left..

So when it started with flurries on Christmas around lunchtime, the kids were pumped. By sunset is was so deep, and so cold, that driving home from great grandmas was becoming scary. The kids were still begging to go outside and crying "but it will be gone in the morning!!!" The next day however was a winter wonderland. Mommy was pumped. It didn't snow often when we were little but my favorite memories are of suiting up in 4 layers thick, putting sandwich bags on under mittens, and pulling on the rubber boots. And sledding. I love sledding. Which our 1 inch last February really didn't afford. And since the roads are usually bad when NC gets snow - I can't drive the kids to play in it. So for us to be there, with them out of school.... yeah!!! Don't worry, he has sandwich bags under those high tech gloves.. "you know you're from South Carolina when....."
So after approximately 2 hours of outside play, the men folk decided that with the 17 degrees it would getting to that evening, and the drive home we were 'suppose' to do the next day - it might be better if we left early so that we drove on the cleared roads vs. the iced over roads. What??? And leave now??? But Tony needed to be at work on Tuesday. I wanted to cry, seriously..

So we left. And came home. The kids pouting. Mommy pouting. Addison told me the next morning that "she was weally mad at me". Not MY fault!!! We came home to large patches of yard already showing in our front lawn... Not funny at all. All I could think of was how we had cheated my kids out of a humongous childhood memory. It was Christmas. It snowed. We played once. Mom and Dad made us go home.

So I wake up the next morning and check the roads for both states - clear and moving well. I pack about a zillion more layers of clothes in a laundry basket and back out on the road we go. 3 1/2 more hours, $75 more in gas, and we are back in wonderland!!!!

So we sled, and sled some more, and then make tracks with Papaw's 4 wheeler to sled some more the next day. So the NEXT day - we sled on the iced paths (the boys thinking it was funny to make paths to run me into trees at the bottom of the hill), and then sled some more, and then realize we are pooped from trudging up those heels so go on a four wheeler ride back into the fields where we go over and around hills and trees and come upon deer tracks. Which the boys and I then track about 14 miles into the woods (maybe an exaggeration... maybe). But none the less, a really fun hike. (If I could have gotten images of hungry coyote or a misplaced bear jumping out onto the path in front of us to go away, it would have been much more fun for mom.)

So now I earned my 'good mommy of the year' badge. And had a wonderful winterland time doing it. But I also was extremely irresponsible and skipped out on 3 appointments I had scheduled the last day we were there .... oh well, brownie points are more valuable than Medicaid payments any old day. But especially on snow days.