Living in the Shadow

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Sunday morning so I guess we’re in for six more weeks of winter weather. We were out of school yesterday for potentially hazardous back roads.

SKI TRIP. The Scout troop had a ski trip to Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Indiana last weekend, and Ben had signed up to go. We scrambled to get enough clothes for him to stay warm only for him to go skiing on what was one of the warmest days of the winter.

Ben seemed a bit apprehensive about skiing for the first time, but when he got back home he was unusually talkative about the day's adventures. He started his day with ski lessons but he had skied six of the nine slopes by the end of the day. It was a long day for him (3:30 am to 10:45 pm) but he's ready to go back and try it again!

LUNCHROOM ECONOMY. As Ben was packing his lunch the other day he mentioned to Vicki that the Special K Pastry Crisps are a "high value item." Kids have been trading food from their lunches at schools for years and years, but apparently an entire economy has sprung up since my school days. From the sound of it Ben often has a lot of swapping power and has even scored someone else's homemade brownie and chicken nuggets.

Funny how lunch never seemed that exciting to me when I was in school. Aunt Ruth used to work in the school cafeteria and would see my tray when I returned it to be washed. She would often comment to Mom, "I worry about Joe. He don't eat nothin' at school."

SHOE SHOPPING. Jenna and Ben both needed shoes so Vicki took them shopping Monday afternoon. She told them to pick out anything under $50 and that if they wanted something more expensive they would have to pay the difference.

Vicki was Ben’s personal shopping assistant. I don't know how many pairs of shoes Ben tried on but eventually the selections were made. Vicki was putting boxes of shoes back on the shelf when she overheard Ben saying to Jenna, "Next time we go shoe shopping YOU can have her."

Vicki laughed and shot back, “Hey now, HER is paying for your $49 shoes.”

CREATURES OF HABIT. The kitchen table brings a smile to my face every morning when I get up, at least on school mornings. I walk in and two places are set for breakfast. If cereal is on the menu then everything but the milk is sitting out ready to go. It would be awesome if we could get the boys to prepare ahead in other areas of their lives, but this is a step in the right direction.

Joe