Iced In
Yesterday afternoon, Walter and I spent a lovely five hours home alone, napping, watching shows, cleaning house and doing little projects while Curtis and the kids climbed to the top of a waterfall, ran in fields, played on playgrounds, and just in general enjoyed fresh air and sunshine. It was a welcome respite for all - Curtis who needed a break from office boredom, the kids who had not been able all week to get to a playground for real outdoor time, and me who had spent four days of the week driving around and running errands, in and out of dentist offices, and valiantly trying to stay awake on highways during rush hour traffic. Even Walter appreciated not getting into the car seat for a full 24 hours.
The clear skies, bright sun, and balmy temperatures (40s?) belied the promises of sleet, snow and ice for the entire weekend. Our family movie night choice, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW further helped to underline that it was truly not that bad outside our doors.
The rain started in the night though, and by 4:00 AM when I got up to check on Walter, there was a clear and solid layer of ice outside the windows. By 8:00 the snowy looking ice had piled all over the yard, the woods behind us, created icicles on the roof and staircase, and formed circular fairy skating rinks on the driveway.
The kids played outside in it several times throughout the day, usually when the precipitation let up enough that they wouldn’t get wet from sleet. Now, at the end of the day I have a washing machine filled with the many layers they wore and raincoats, snow coats and sweaters were strewn across every available surface to dry.
Tomorrow promises to be a perfect “ice” day, with the rain continuing for a time tonight, temperatures continuing to drop, but the sun coming out so that the kids will be able to play without getting covered in the cold and freezing rain. Kevin anticipates enough ice to really build up snowballs for a snowball war, and all the boys are hoping for some excellent time slipping and sliding around the driveway.