Togetherness

School was closed again today. This time I knew ahead of time. I found out during my three-hour tour through the detour from my house to the Bigs' baseball clinic to my youngest son's preschool -- right when I didn't think things could possibly get worse. I saw the number on my cell phone, and I thought, Oh no! I take it back, it can get worse. Please don't let it get worse! before I answered.

Today, again, I only had four meetings. I chased the kids out of my office a few times and suggested they go outside because it was warm. My youngest was home, too. His preschool wasn't closed, but as the saying goes, "you can't get there from here." Two out of the three roads that I could take are closed and the third still has water all over it and the going is very slow (according to local lore on the town newslist). There was absolutely no way I was going to even take the chance of repeating what I went through last night.

No matter how many times I suggested things for the kids to do in other parts of the house or yard, they ended up back in my office. I had been dodging bullets (literally, there are Nerf gun projectiles all over the downstairs), bakugan, and Play-doh wads. As soon as the dishes were cleaned up from one meal, someone was hungry or thirsty again. Cups, plates, wrappers, chip bags littered numerous surfaces.

Midday the boys tagged along with me to my hair appointment. I had tried to reschedule it last night after I got the call from school, but my hairdresser convinced me that she could see me in the backroom and the kids could hang out there. "Hmmm." I knew it would be no picnic, but I really needed to have my hair done so I agreed. Fortunately my hairdresser is also my friend, and she has two kids near the ages of mine, so she mothered them while I was under the dryer and couldn't hear anything (it would have been a more blissful experience if it weren't so hot!). My oldest also got his hair cut, though I doubt anyone will be able to tell -- he's wearing it long like 1970's-David-Cassidy-long ("Who's that, Mom?"). All in all they were very cooperative so I took them to Dunkin Donuts afterwards.

Back to my office to work for a few more hours and then to our Destination Imagination meeting, which was held outside on the school playground because the school was closed today, but we really needed to meet one more time before the competition this weekend. We went to the supermarket on the way home to get things for dinner and everyone showered in the downstairs bathroom adjacent to the kitchen while I cooked.

After dinner, I left the dishes in the sink and went upstairs to watch a movie with the boys in my room. We spent a lot of time together today; our house is very "lived in." (The dishes remain where I left them.)

Supposedly there's school tomorrow, but I don't know how that's going to work if the buses can't travel into entire neighborhoods...