Winter Break II

Our kids have missed a week of school for next to no snow. Last Friday evening (the 7th -- and then again on Sunday) a weather system brought a substantial amount of snow to the Mid-South -- dumping up to a foot of snow in some places and practically shutting Atlanta down. We were on the northern edge of this weather system and got about two inches of the coveted white stuff. TDOT had all our state roads cleared in short order, but the county roads saw no such treatment and remained icy in many places all week. Consequently, this has been one of the longest lingering snows that I remember because the temperature has stayed below freezing all this time.

CHEF BENTON. I’ll have to say, Ben is turning into quite a little cook here at our house. This sort of surprises me, because he’s never really expressed interest in cooking too much. Ben did help me do the boiled custard for Christmas, and was really good help, but I just never expected this sort of interest. I don’t cook any pancakes any more.

The funny thing is that he’s started to help Vicki in the kitchen some, and he makes as good a team with her as Jenna does. The other night he and Jenna both wanted to help Vicki cook supper. Vicki said she’d only take help from one kid simply because there wasn’t enough space in the kitchen for three people to work. This almost started an argument.

BASKETBALL SEASON IS HERE. Last Saturday (the 8th) marked the first basketball games in our schedule. The snow caused the games for the younger division teams to be cancelled (as fast as TDOT was clearing the roads there’s only so much they can do in a short time) which broke Nate’s heart. The weather this weekend was much better and Nate played as scheduled. He had a good game and assisted in a couple of goals even though the basket seemed to elude him. At this age it takes a few weeks for all the players to get the hang of what’s going on.

Ben and Jenna both had good games and even put the first points on the board for their teams. Ben’s team won by a respectable lead and I think they impressed their coach with how well they played. This weekend was no different. Ben played really well with a lot of points to his credit, and he is a rebounder. He’s tall enough for this to be easy for him, but to make things better his hands seem to have glue on them. Now if he can just learn to do a running lay-up he’ll lethal on the court.

Jenna’s game turned out to be a real nail-biter last weekend. Jenna’s team dominated during the first half, but their opponent woke up and gave them a run for their money. It ended in a tie. What was so fun for us is that Vicki is the assistant coach for Jenna’s team. Last weekend the head coach was unable to be there so this turned in to her coaching debut.

This week’s game was just as interesting with Jenna’s team winning by one point. The funny thing is that there’s only two girls teams in this division so this is going to become a weekly grudge match.

LAST CHRISTMAS DINNER. One of the holiday highlights each year is getting together with our cousins from Ashland City. Some years we manage to do this within our Christmas break, most years we do not. The reality is that both families have three active kids so it’s just not easy to find a time. We finally got this visit in last night when the Bradley/Dee clan came to our house for dinner, and their visit was a lot of fun. The Dee girls sure have grown!

One very smart suggestion was that we just make the Sunday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day our annual holiday meal. It makes perfect sense since school is out the next day and all the other holiday activities are behind us. So now our Christmas activities will have a very pleasant post script every year in mid-January.

DOTS. While cooking does not motivate me, I don’t mind doing laundry. Vicki doesn’t trust me with the delicate clothes, but we go through enough jeans, tee shirts, towels, and underwear that I can stay busy enough. Helpful as I try to be, I’m not good at separating the boys’ clothes. No matter how hard I try I get things in the wrong closet.

Vicki came up with a great plan to help me out. Armed with a permanent marker all of Ben’s clothes have one dot on the label and all of Nate’s clothes have two dots. And when Ben outgrows a shirt or a pair of pants we make a second dot and pass them down. This has made life so easy for me!

FOOL OVER A FISH. I don’t think Vicki would admit it on her own, but she is very fond of our fish, 36. We’re very surprised that a goldfish won at the fair has lasted this long, but 36 hasn’t just survived, he’s thrived -- even growing significantly. What’s funny is to hear Vicki talk to 36. She uses the same voice I’ve heard her use for a puppy. And 36 just swims up and down the corner of the tank closest to Vicki taking it all in (I’m guessing he’s thinking, “Will you hurry up with the food!”). It’s a sight to see.

TOUCHÉ. Vicki got an iTunes card for Christmas and had downloaded some music she liked. One of these songs was “This” by Darius Rucker. When Nate heard it begin to play he said, “Hey, that sounds like what Mr. Kenny would sound like if he could sing!”

Joe