We're about to begin our 4th snow day from school, and I think I'm in serious danger of losing my mind. That's four days, in a row, (six, if you count the weekend) trapped at home in a teeny little house with an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. Boys! If you've never lived with two boys of this particular age and stage of development, then you may be thinking, "What's she griping about? Cute little boys? How much trouble could they possibly be?" Perhaps you envision them playing nicely together, as I kick back and enjoy the peace and quiet whilst sipping a hot cup of tea and reading a good book...Yeah, you're delusional. At this age, it's true that they can still resemble those sweet little boys you may be picturing. But, then, a wave of pubescent hormones hits and turns them into obnoxious, sarcastic, ungrateful little monsters! And, back and forth it goes...Totally unpredictable, too, so you can't really prepare yourself for the puberty punch. It just happens.
Day one really wasn't too bad. We stayed in our pajamas, watched too much T.V., played kitchen table ping-pong, and everybody got along reasonably well, with only minimal griping and arguing. The biggest issue for me on day one was just the sheer volume of noise produced by my beloved sons. In a house this small, there's no escape from every little sound. And, when you're trapped inside by snow and ice, all that noise is amplified. Two boys giggling or wrestling or arguing sound more like ten! And, by mid-way through the second day, they had run through every game, every toy, every activity they wanted to do and were starting to bicker over every little thing! My nerves were frayed, I was ready to snap, and I stared longingly out at my car, buried beneath the snow and ice... So, after sending them out to play in the frigid weather for a while, I hypnotized them with pizza and more T.V. (Please don't judge...you weren't here, feeling my pain!) In spite of pizza and T.V., by this time, they were starting to deliberately push buttons and get even more snarky with each other, and with me. I mean, imagine the gall of me asking them to pick up after themselves after they've had almost two full days of lying around doing nothing! How could I be so demanding and unreasonable??? What a terrible mother! Based on the amount of eye-rolling, whining, and just-under-the-breath muttered comments, you'd think I was physically torturing them! By the time hubby got home from work, I was already in my pajamas, half-way through my second glass of wine, and hiding in my bedroom trying to pretend I didn't have children at all! Picture then, the third snow day. All three of us, infected with cabin fever and ready to climb the walls, trapped in the house yet again. I actually ignored the T.V. news people urging us all to stay in our houses and avoid the roads, dug my car out from under the snow, and braved the hazardous streets to take us all out to lunch and a movie. The fresh air and change of scenery worked wonders. We were almost back to our pre-blizzard selves, and I naively thought that we might be OK and avoid actually killing one another. Until we got back in the house, the cabin fever took over again, the boys started arguing, and we got the call that school is canceled again tomorrow.
Breathe, girl. Just, breathe...
Cheers!
Beth
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