Another Snow Day

A snowman named Jack-- constructed by the boys and their father, whose work had a two hour delay. Note the sweet potato eyes.

Luke lovingly put Jack's nose in place.

Every snowman constructed by little boys should have a large stick in his hand right? Sticks are another boy mystery to me. We leave no sticks behind in this family of men.


This was impressive to me. The boys filled the recycling bin with snow from the parking lot to make these giant bricks.

Luke and I started The Long Winter again. I can read these books again and again and still tear up when Laura and Carrie make it home from school in the midst of the blizzard. Here is the quote that had me choked up today:

"It was so wonderful to be there, safe at home, sheltered from the winds and the cold. Laura thought that this must be a bit like Heaven, where the weary are at rest. She could not imagine that Heaven was better than where she was, slowly growing warm and comfortable, sipping the hot, sweet ginger tea, seeing Ma and Grace, and Pa and Carrie, and Mary all enjoying their own cups of it and hearing the storm that could not touch them here."

Her description of home is what I long to create for my boys. I want them to have the feeling that the storms around them cannot touch them once they are home.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to Laura and Mary. The connection and the conversations that result from reading these stories with Luke are precious to me. Every winter, I hope, will include another visit to the Dakota prairie for me. I hope that Luke lets me take him with me for a good many more years. I am hoping next year we can convince Noah to sit still just a little bit longer. Isaac's time will come as well.

At the end of a day full of winter flurry we retreated into the kitchen for hot, homemade soup. We imagined how grateful Laura and Mary would have been for such a hearty soup to fill their bellies. Then Luke, without complaining, ate his soup.

I love when school is canceled and I get my Luke all day long. It is a welcome respite from the daily routines. I feel as though I am somehow reclaiming this little boy who I send into the world everyday. Come what may, he belongs to me.

I will be happy to send him tomorrow; he loves school and school loves him right back. But days like this leave us just a little more connected, on a little firmer ground. It is a chance for him to remember that he is still my guy.