JulieLeung.com: a life told in tidepools

Second-day snow certainly isn’t as exciting. Not when it’s been raining all night. We woke this morning to white everywhere. It’s strange to me, the difference between the dull clouds and the bright snow reflecting what little light there is. No newspapers – neither the Seattle one nor the island one made it to our home this morning.

No garbage pickup, cancelled today, the newspapers in the recycle bin so wet, heavy with rain, that I couldn’t return the bin to the back deck, and so I left it on the front porch instead of putting it away. And the service to our heating systems was also cancelled due to “liability” concerns on the roads.

Sleds lay abandoned on the hill behind our house as the snow melted. Kids were still out playing on this day off, but without the energy level and cries of delight from yesterday. The girls and I went for a short walk in the freezing rain to get the mail. The water splashed all around us. Funny how in the snow I couldn’t sense the cracks in my boots as much, but in the slush, I got soaked!

This is the kind of day it was:

Waking to the stormy skies, soggy slush on the streets and sidewalks, too icy to try to drive, yet getting a bit of cabin fever at home, cooped up together too long, not much to eat except what I conjure up from the cupboard, feeling like I’d just like to fast forward the next few days…

Although I woke early I procrastinated on exercising. I dreaded using the treadmill. I feel so confined even thinking about that exercise machine stuck in a corner of our garage: walking up and down, holding onto the rails, staring at the digital numbers and raw drywall. The only way I used to be able to tolerate it in winters past was to blast the radio so loud (no headphones!) I was sure I’d wake the neighbors with NPR. But then this morning I found myself wishing I had more time. I enjoyed it after all. Such a surprise! I’ll remember that.

Today Abigail drew a picture of rows of flowers, simple red squiggles with stems. There’s a big red heart in the middle that says “I love you”. Looking at that cheers me up. Michaela sat at the island bar and talked to me while I cooked dinner. She told me how she felt like a mommy since she had her own food set (a Christmas gift). I felt a little like she was more 30 than 3 for a moment. And Elisabeth, when I asked her in the middle of a diaper change, surprised us with a display that demonstrated her control of various bodily functions….she might be ready to learn to use the potty – if only she could walk and talk!

Tonight Ted went out to a meeting after dinner. So I turned on the radio loud and baked oatmeal-raisin-chocolate-chip cookies. The girls and I danced around while we waited for the cookies to bake. I’ll remember watching them all sitting at the bar, moving to the music. I’ll remember the chocolate smeared across their faces and fingers. Elisabeth playing with her cracker like it was a hockey puck. Looking across the counter and seeing three girls smile back at me.

That’s what I’ll remember from this slushy day….