the girl

Snow Days 2022 — Day 1

Take 1

I could hear the ice striking our windows in the early morning. “It’s not supposed to start until early tomorrow afternoon,” I thought. Still, I got up and checked.

We had about three inches on the ground already, and it was still snowing.

The Boy had only one thing on his mind: “Daddy, when can we go out? When can we go out?” Since it hasn’t really snowed since about 2018, this is the first snow he’s experienced since being in kindergarten.

He certainly made the most of it during our morning session.

Take 2

In the afternoon, the girls finally joined us.

And the dog had a chance to play.

Take 3

Evening — one must take a walk in snow in the evening.

Snow Approaching?

Heavy snowfall is nothing new to K — she grew up with sights like this:

March 2004, Jablonka

Snowfall after snowfall all packed up, settled, and repacked to show just how much snow has fallen in the last few days.

We never get snow like that here, but rumor has it, we could get significant snow beginning tomorrow afternoon:

A winter storm warning and an ice storm warning for parts of our area is in effect until Monday morning.

  • A winter storm warning indicates that heavy snow of at least 6 inches in 12 hours, or at least 8 inches in 24 hours, is expected. It can also be issued if sleet accumulation will be at least half an inch.
  • An ice storm warning indicates that ice accumulation of at least 1/4 inch is expected. (Source)

It’s been years since we had any significant snow here. Last year’s snow didn’t even last a day:

Snowfall 2021

In 2020, we had a dusting of snow after the major flooding of our basement, but it was gone by the end of the day, I think:

And then snow

Earlier in 2020, we had a snowfall that lasted all morning and amounted to nothing — not even an early dismissal.

Snow and a Change

We have to go all the way back to 2018 to find significant snowfall:

Snow

So we’re all hopeful, but cautiously so.

“I flushed some ice cubes down the toilet,” L informed us?

“Huh?”

“Yeah, and I’m going to sleep with a spoon under my pillow — superstitions for snow!”

We all do what we can.

Lost Photos

I never published these photos, to my knowledge — I don’t know how that happened. They’re so old that it’s almost funny: L and her friend E are now in high school, as tall or taller than their parents, learning to drive, alternatively annoying and charming adults.

Little I no longer is little. He’s in middle school now.

And our little man E and E’s and I’s little sister E? Not even a thought in their head.

2021

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Wigilia Eve 2021

The girls did some baking — peppermint chocolate chip cookies, which are absolutely amazing.

The neighbors did some caroling.

And I did some Photoshopping.

15

And just like that, fifteen years have passed.

Lighting her own candles

We have a daughter who’s thinking about college, wondering what she wants to do with her life, realizing she just has a few more years at home.

Reading Babcia’s card with a little help

We have a daughter who now possesses a learner’s permit and a strong desire to learn how to drive.

The extra-large pillows she’s wanted for weeks

Christmas Card

K wouldn’t let me publish it until we had sent out some of the cards.

Final Game Night

We played Ticket to Ride tonight — a favorite game for all of us. L and K enjoy it because they actually play to win; E and I love it because we play to stop them from winning. Not to win ourselves — just to get in their way. It means there’s a lot of laughs, a bit of frustration from time to time, and lots of memories.

I’ve always associated games with the extended Thanksgiving break. When we went to Nashville to visit Nana’s brother for Thanksgiving, one of the highlights for me was digging through their game closet. They had everything — games we had of course like Scrabble but also games I’d always wanted to play but never owned like Life and Battleship. And of course Monopoly. I loved it as at E’s age just as much as he loves it, and I’m sure everyone else put up with it just like we put up with it.

Thanksgiving 2021

Thanksgiving for fifteen years always included Nana and Papa. We went to Nashville to visit Nana’s brother our first Thanksgiving back in the States in 2005. Less than a year later, he’d passed away. We haven’t been back to Nashville since.

From that point, we went to Papa’s side of the family every year. There were various cousins, aunts, and uncles there — never the same group — but there were always two that never changed: Nana and Papa.

During our first Thanksgiving without Nana in 2019, we all went for a portrait and took Nana with us — the wound was still raw for everyone, but especially Papa. His first Thanksgiving without Nana in forever.

This is our first Thanksgiving without either of them. The plan to go visit Aunt D, who helped take care of Nana when she first came back from rehab, fell through as did our plan to visit with cousins. Our Polish family from North Carolina — family in all ways that count, at any rate — had other plans for Thanksgiving, so we spent it just the four of us. Without turkey.

But with games. What’s Thanksgiving without games?

Previous Years

Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving 2019

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving 2011

Family and Food: Thanksgiving 2010

Interrupted

Fourth Thursday

Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving 2006

Thanksgiving 2005

Pre-Thanksgiving 2021

It’s been such an odd Thanksgiving Eve. The only thing I did today that was in line with every other day-before-T’giving was to mow. That only makes sense if you’re in the south, I guess.

In the evening, the kids played chess. The Boy won the first game on time; that did not sit well with the Girl, who promptly paid more attention to her time management and checkmated him in the second game.

“She is so competitive,” K said.

“But look at it this way,” I said. “She could have pouted when he won and refused to play with him again. Instead, she was angry and wanted another shot.”