Mittens or Gloves?

Mittens or gloves is the question

the answer to which I am certain

lies on the inside

where fingers and thumbs cry

for comfort, warmth and protection!

Working in the school district full time for over 20 years has allowed me the opportunity to view first hand how parents dress their children. Now, why would parents send their kids to school in the wintertime, knowing there was outside play at recess, with no snowpants, no boots, no hat (or hood on their jacket)and only stretchy gloves, if any, for hand protection? Poor kids used to have to borrow mittens/gloves and hats from the teacher or nurse's office and then stand where it was plowed and just watch the other kids play. What great memories those kids have ... NOT! The rest of the kids would be building snowmen, playing King of the Hill on the snowbanks and making forts. They weren't allowed to throw snowballs at each other but we managed to find a way to play snowbaseball and got away with it and it was my idea! Don't tell the principal.

My memory helped me understand the importance of good winter clothing and I definitely remember back in highschool wishing I had my mittens instead of my gloves; my wool socks instead of my nylon/cotton blended ones; my hat with little ear protectors built in and my real boots as opposed to my sneakers which were way cooler but definitely not practical .. and my mom did not know I left the house in them, heh, heh, heh! Oh, wait .. the jokes on me :-(

My own daughter in love came to play the other day with our 3 year old granddaughter, Belle, who had on snowpants, a warm hat that fastened over her chin, boots and mittens. Her mommy had a jacket, athletic shoes, no hat and nothing for her hands!! Then she complained about winter time. Helloooooo!!!!! Since I was working, she borrowed my snow boots and mittens and had a great time outdoors with Dad and her daughter, sledding and snowshoeing. Another daughter-in-love dresses very similarly for winter but doesn't complain. She also doesn't play in the snow as she and our son have no children, yet...

A couple of days later, we had our other granddaughter, also dressed for winter, over to play in the snow and had equally as great a time and I didn't miss a thing because it was Sunday after church! The sky was just beautiful and I hope my pics turned out on this page the way they are supposed to. Her mommy, our third daughter-in-love couldn't come but if she could she would be dressed for it as she has snowpants, boots, hats, mittens and now some of our snow shoes so they can trek around and take pictures. I think I'm going to invest in some winter gear for the other girls :-) The family that snowshoes together, drinks hot chocolate together and that sounds mighty fine right about now!

Meanwhile, back to my rant ... parents, dress your kids and yourselves for the weather. It's Feburary! My final words go back to my poem: Mittens are always warmer than gloves since your fingers get to hang out together and share

body heat. I even slip my thumbs out of their little home to be curled up inside my hand and sometimes I even drive the car that way! Just sayin' .. .around our house, mittens makes the difference between happy hands or miserable grandmommy!

End of rant.

Snow Day!

When roads are slick

and sidewalks thick

with ice on a weekday morn;






When radios say,

"No school today!"

when suddenly sleep is done;

When breakfast is eaten

and a shoveled path's beaten

to the shed to fetch the sled;

Then hills in all places

announce winter races

where everyone wins in

The End!

It never fails to amaze me the amount of energy a child (and some adults) have when they realize there is no school due to snow and/or ice! Neighbors of mine would be up at the crack of dawn, which in the winter around here comes close to 7 AM, and would be putting their skiis on top of their station wagon and be ready to go as soon as the last child gulped down their breakfast! Sometimes the car would be ready the night before in anticipation of a "snow day."

I really don't have room to talk, though ... snow days off from school would have me into my snowpants at almost the same time so I could take advantage of the new fallen snow on our community hill before the other kids got there! I liked making the "track" for the saucer and made sure it didn't go into the pricker bushes. Pricker bushes remind of another time but that's another story .....

Things haven't changed much and though I don't regularly go sledding, there is still something pretty magical about waking up to a winter wonderland and hearing Tom and Steve on the radio announce that the schools are closed! I work for the school districts and though I may not get paid for snow days, I get to breathe the cold, crisp, clean air as I help shovel and the anticipation of playing with my grandchidren in the snow is worth a whole lot more than a pay check!

Winter Life

Under boughs of evergreen
beneath cold dirt you'll find
little rooms in tidy nests
for critters of every kind.

Grey mice and squirrels; chipmunks, too,
seek shelter from winter's air
They burrow a furrow and line the end
with some of their soft, warm fur.

They venture out on warmish days
and skitter across the snow
to search for food and stretch their limbs...
then it's back to the evergreen boughs.

Winter Statue

Winter Statue

Eye lashes gathering

Cold nose breathing

Red cheeks feeling

Pink tongue catching

Swirling flakes of winter

Good Reading

Another poem is on the way but first, I wanted to share a blogging friends offer of a give-away. She writes very well and loves to make new friends; now having over 700 reading her blog! Check her out:

http://ajoyfulchaos.blogspot.com/2011/01/giveaway-just-because.html

It Finally Snowed

It wasn't a humdinger of a snow storm, but you could measure it! Six inches at last measure and it's still lightly snowing. The schools stayed open and the busses were only a little bit late this AM. No one has much trouble unless they are going too fast, have poor tires or have someone in front of them matching that same description.

I slid back down the driveway this AM; of course it was not plowed or sanded. I managed to get a running start and was able to quckly check traffic before sliding out into the road. That was it, though; the rest of the way into work today was easy. I forgot I had to be outside for bus duty in the afternoon, though .. and left my boots in the car! I survived.

I think I may make an apple pie tomorrow .... saw a picture of one on another blog and that did it for me.

About Amish: A January Deal... and a Question

About Amish: A January Deal... and a Question

Such an interesting woman and a great offer on her book. She's appearing throughout MA, VT and VA this winter/spring.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! We had a great New Year's Eve at the Glen Glade Country Store with old and new friends; sharing food and playing games. Managed to get home in time to watch the crystal ball drop in NYC to announce the end of the old and the beginning of the new. We updated our facebook statuses, kissed and went to bed. Woke up in the morning to the same dishes and what not ... boring by some people's standards but not to us :-)



Well, I told some people I was going to do it ... so here goes: Poetry time! (short and sweet)



Playing In Winter

Snowsuit stuffing
Huffing, puffing;
Boots too big for little feet

Mittened fingers;
Fuzz balls linger
at the tips where fingers meet

Scarf wrapped 'round;
Hat pulled down;
Two eyes, one nose now showing

All ready for
the opened door
to meet cold wind now blowing!