Schedule? We don't need no stinking schedule!

Today is a snow day. As a teacher, there is one of two camps you can fall into regarding snow days. First, there are those who embrace them, enjoy them, consider them a gift from God. Then there are those who don't want them, regret them and lament the days we will have to make up in June. I fall into the first group. I will ALWAYS take a snow day now and happily make up the time in June. After all, in June, the end is in sight. In January, it seems a long, long time away.

My husband is NOT a teacher. He does NOT seem to enjoy my snow days. Part of the reason might be a bit of jealousy (it is hard to work when the rest of your household is not), but a bigger part is what it does to our daily schedule. He's a big fan of schedules, that husband of mine. He even blogged about is just a few short days ago...

The Monday past was Martin Luther King, Jr Day, a holiday for myself, my husband and our son. No school, no work for anyone! Normally, I make a concerted effort to fill such days with something- museums, movies, the park- anything that gets us out of the house as a family. I dropped the ball on MLK day, however, and we found ourselves in the house all day with nothing to do. The hub was down and out with a nasty cold, so I took Cal to the kitchen to do some cooking. Orange cranberry muffins for breakfast and chicken and barley soup for lunch made the morning pass quickly. Yes, there was a LITTLE disagreement in the kitchen when my father appeared asserting his supremacy as chicken soup maker and offering to take over. Yes, I MIGHT have threatened (in a good natured way) to hit him over the head with a frying pan. Overall, however, the dishes turned well and Cal and I enjoyed a nice morning together. In my mind, a success.

Hubby's mind, however, was a different matter. While (mostly) appreciative of the goodies I made him, he viewed the day as a bit of an unscheduled nightmare. My being home from work disrupted the time my father usually has dominance over the kitchen, causing the aforementioned disagreement. Cal's being home from school resulted in a bit more TV than usual and a whole lot of energy unexpended. Worse, due to our time in the kitchen, resources were used that normally would not have been- oranges, cranberries, flour, barley, chicken, veggies, all things that would have to be replaced. My husband's conclusion: An unscheduled day cost us both emotionally and financially.

My conclusion: Phooey! My husband found a few big negatives in the day and, while I recognize them, I feel the positives greatly outweighed them. The three of us were together and, unscheduled or not, that time is a blessing and filled with opportunity. While baking with me, Cal is learning- counting, measuring, vocabulary like sweet, tart, salty, etc. Making the soup provided not only a warm, hearty lunch, but also the lesson that lunch at home doesn't come from a box, jar or can. Extra time together with nothing to do allowed us to be silly together in a way that doesn't happen every day.

Fast forward to today, the wonderful snow day... Another day without plans, a morning in the house due to the large amount of snow outside. Hub is busy working from home, so what are Cal and I to do? You got it, after some puzzles, playing boats in the tub and a little Scooby Doo, we headed for the kitchen. On today's unscheduled menu- vegetarian chili for lunch and a treat of chocolate chip cookies. More talking and laughing together, more learning in an unstructured way. And a smile from dear husband when I brought him his homemade lunch. I'll take it.

All for now. Thanks for reading.