This is the 3rd weekend of February. Before you know it, Christmas will be here…that’s how fast it feels like it’s going. It snowed again last night, or this morning: really heavy wet snow. The kind that soaks your mittens instantly when you scoop up a double handful and shape it into a ball and fire it at the nearest person who is ducking to scoop their own. It snowed again this evening: sideways horizontal blizzard snow that clung and stuck to every surface like flocking.
We spent most of the afternoon shopping. The kids needed indoor gym shoes because their feet are growing as quickly as the year feels like it’s moving. I’m surprised, frankly, that they’re not both wearing clown shoes. It’s disturbing to me on some level that both of my kids, who are yet shorter than I (and I am admittedly challenged in the height department), have feet bigger than mine. By more than one size. How can that be, when I can remember their feet smaller than my hands? Karin’s little froggy feet and Martin’s plump and nommy round little toes.
We found shoes for both of them, and socks, and soccer paraphernalia for Karin and 2 books for me and a couple of movies to boot. Martin bought a Wii game. Karin bought a soccer ball. The mall and the streets were thronged with people. I like the word throng. It’s got such a nice ring to it. Then we came home and Anders fell asleep on the couch and I fell asleep on our bed, while the kids played computer games. Then we had a thrown-together dinner (sandwiches, soup and salad) and watched Melodifestivalen and cheered when our choice (Timoteij) went straight to the final. Now the kids are in bed, Anders is watching a Beck movie and I am finishing up a really good book whose sequel isn’t out for a few more months. All in all, a good Saturday.
I did some online price checking for flights to the States yesterday and it looks like we’ll just be able to swing the cost. But we can’t nail down dates yet until Anders checks his training schedule for spring, as he has a ton of classes and several more trips to Italy between now and June. The kids get out of school around June 10th, plus Anders is doing Vättern Runt again, which is June 17th, so we’re not sure exactly when we’ll be going. My brother and his wife will be in Michigan at my mom’s for a week starting June 19th and my sister’s family will most likely be there as well, and my hope is to be there too, but we shall see. I really hope it works out because the times for my whole family to be together at once these days are far and few between.
The kids are off next week, for Sportlov, but Anders and I are both working. I haven’t really given much thought to how we’ll work out the logistics of the week with them home all day. Because I drive Martin (and his classmate) to and from school every day, it’s rather freeing to have a week where I don’t have to adhere to a schedule and can work late if necessary, go to Malmö for the AWC meeting without worrying about getting them home and get up 15 minutes later than usual.
Tomorrow, we have no plans. What shall I do? Definitely a walk. A good long one. Send sunshine!