We’ve lost that loving feeling 
Remember that time that our kids went to school? I think it was called 2015 and it was pretty awesome. I admit I was a little bit excited about seeing the pretty snow and having a day off but the truth is, when a snow day overstays its welcome, the harsh reality sets in. This is the part when you see what you are really made of, when the loving family dynamic gets put to the ultimate test. Cabin Fever.
It starts out innocent enough; a board game, an extra snack, a glass of wine or beer a bit earlier in the day than usual, a sarcastic remark to your spouse, a snap at your kid for making a mess. We don’t catch any of the warning signs because we don’t know how long we will be here. Somewhere along the way the sanity rope feels like it is starting to fray a bit and the local weather man showing the snow in the area becomes some bizarre backdrop to your family’s de-evolution.
In what feels like an instant you are turning a blind eye to your kid eating a bowl of “skittles cereal” and you are dreaming about that Amazon droid helicopter thing delivering a case of booze to your frozen snowy doorstep. You become a bit numb to what your kids are up to as long as they keep it down and don’t get blood on anything as you settle into your own little wi-fi fueled haze. Cycling through social media, weather apps, and random google searches, you suddenly convincing yourself that you will start a blog to right all the wrongs from Making a Murderer and find yourself in some weird unsolved mystery chat room on the outskirts of the internet. Eventually you start to wonder how long you have been sitting there. When did I take a shower last? Why are my children’s collective worldly possessions all in the living room? Did I just eat this entire can of Pringles? How long have I been wearing these pajama pants? Is it still snowing? No school again? What day is it? What year is it? Netflix is the only one in this house that truly understands me. How many lunches have we had today? Is there anything left my kids haven’t fought about?
Sound familiar? You start organizing games like the nap game where the prize is whichever kid falls asleep first doesn’t get a spanking. You gather the family around the table to work on a 1000 piece argument. You start wondering if you should send the internet a Valentine’s day card. You try to make the best of it by thinking of all of the great family memories the snow storm has provided but get interrupted because someone is bleeding. Now that your kids have lost interest in every single toy that they have, they havedecided to combine their two favorite things, fighting and jumping off of furniture and you are pretty sure you need to find an ACE bandage so you can tie them up with it and MAKE IT STOP.
Being cooped up for days on end can push us right to that edge but somehow we hold on. Sibling rivalry wears itself out and sleep gives us the short respite we so desperately need. The thaw is coming and we just have to hang on.
Simon C. Holland 
October 17th, 2019 at 9:30 am
Where have you been Simon? You need to keep writing!
February 25th, 2016 at 11:15 pm
Hee hee all thawed out yet?
February 8th, 2016 at 11:16 am
This kind of pressure can produce good art … thanks for the read!
February 6th, 2016 at 11:59 am
Where have you been all this time? I guess I’m the last blogger alive to discover you. Maybe that makes you (or me) a fossil?
February 6th, 2016 at 11:58 am
Reblogged this on Teachezwell Blog and commented:
You GOTTA read this post! Anyone who has “survived” snow days with their kiddos will identify with Simon. Teachers will secretly laugh, until they have to make up all that time on a Saturday….
February 5th, 2016 at 9:53 pm
Yes, the first snow day is magic.After that it gets old pretty fast. At least it sounds like you still had power.Imagine what it would have been like without the internet, tv or fridge! Glad things are back to normal with out any injuries.