By Sandy Welch Thompson

I was sitting here trying to figure out what to write about. It’s a snow day with the kids, which means this mom takes an unexpected vacation day and stays home with them. I am a mom that works outside of the home so these kinds of days are uniquely annoying. Quite honestly, I do NOT always greet them with a great big smile. God has a great sense of humor. These kinds of days come along when I have the most to get done at my job. Kids tend to get sick on those kinds of days too. Ever notice that? Now before I come off like the worst mom in the world, let me first mention that I am fully aware of where some of my shortfalls are. I am not patient enough to be a stay-at-home mom. I am also not smart enough to be home-school teacher or any other kind of teacher. I am not abundantly creative, I hate to plan and I am certainly not inventive. Truthfully, these days sort of scare me. Other than the opportunity to sleep in, stay in jammies and not bathe until much later in the day, my brain goes blank. P.S. Sleeping in would be the only idea I have…but interestingly enough, a snow day is the only day I have noticed that my kids wake up way before they need to. It’s typically a tremendous effort to wake them for school on time. Today, no lyin’, Teenie was up at 5:45 am. Are you kidding me? Again…God has a great sense of humor. I literally have no idea what to do to make a snow day something to remember. I do know that when we were kids and had a snow day, my mom was all over it. She may not have been one of the Pinterest queens of today, but that woman knew how to make a memorable snow day. She would whip us up some amazing hot chocolate (complete with mini marshmallows, throw some socks on our hands, zip our coats up and ship us outside. Yes, I had socks on my hands. Clutch the pearls, the struggles we had back then (hee hee). There were five of us kids and I don’t remember having anything but socks on my hands on a snow day. When we were good and frost bitten, we came in and played board games. Monopoly was the typical game of choice. Occasionally we played penny bingo with dad’s change. We never got to keep it, but I remember all of us sitting on the floor in mom and dad’s bedroom with cards and wooden markers. Although there may have been a cheater or two in the group, we had a lot of fun. It was all thanks to my mom and her ways of entertaining 5 kids in a very small home! I don’t know how she did it. But those are some great memories. Now don’t think I am complaining that I had to stay home. I just had to warm up to the idea of letting go of the work role to focus on the home role – some of us just don’t do it well in an impromptu situation. Using the kids as an excuse to stay in jammies, sleep in and have a day off – O K A Y…I will if you insist. It just catches me off guard and at first I am just not appreciative. I am not a person who likes these kinds of little surprises, so it takes me a bit to be grateful for the opportunity. I will bet I am not alone in that. Whether you admit it or not, the support group is here if ya need it! I wasn’t awake long today before I realized I didn’t have to be Mom of the Year. I just had to be mom of the moment. I don’t expect a trophy, but really, there should be. I already have my acceptance speech written. Today, I was a hero. Today, I rocked the mom role. Today, I ruled the Snow Day, and I did it without a single plan in mind. Turns out, all you have to be is, well, you. I don’t have a lot to offer in the way of “Guess what I have planned for us today!” I am more of the “Okay, I guess we can do that” sort of mom. But it worked and it was awesome! We went outside and built an embarrassingly pathetic little snowman. Then, we came in and made some wretched looking cupcakes (for lunch no less), and though they may not look appealing to anyone except those of us who made them…um, rocked it! Side note: When you cook or bake with kids, you can hope the hands are washed, and that you won’t find a hair or other paraphernalia in your baked goods, but it’s a toss up really. Baking from “scratch” means something totally different than expected and frankly, don’t bank on getting the full ingredient list when you ask what’s in the cupcake. I even think I saw glitter – who knows from whence THAT came. Then, and yeah, I am bragging for just a moment. I showed the girls some old school moves to Uptown Funk. Nunu recorded me and it better not make it out of the house, but mom’s still got it – just take my word for it. Then Oh My Gosh! I totally blew Teenie’s mind with plates and bowls. I’m just that good. She wanted to paint a Captain America shield. Bam! Look no further than right here with good ol’ mom. Large plate, middle sized bowl, then small plate. Perfect circles – free-hand 5 point star. Done! And Done! Yes, I totally just high-fived myself. So when you feel that God has a sense of humor, laugh right along with him. Laugh as loud as he does when you are throwing a fit about how much you need to get done or what time you have to be at work. Then settle down and realize what your means and ends truly are. These girls, my family, THIS SNOW DAY – yeah, that’s what life is all about. They don’t care how smart I am or why I went to college. They don’t give one flip about my opinions in a meeting or what time I get to work. They aren’t impressed with my paycheck or how well I pull a project together. They simply love. It’s true, girls just want to have fun – and we did…ALL DAY LONG! The next time you dread a snow day because you are swamped and can’t afford a day off, don’t plan a thing except calling in and maybe throw in a “Thank You Jesus”. Take the opportunity to invest in your own little snow angels. Give them the one thing about a snow day that means the most – you! You might not rock the dance moves like I did today, but I bet you rock your kid’s world nonetheless!