Get the feedJust double-checking
Thursday, Dec 18th 2008
Upon waking, I’m surprised to find it snowed. I’m never one to pay too much attention to upcoming weather. Groggy, I’m greeted by two very enthusiastic boys.
"Mom, we don't have school!"
"But I do,” says my teenage daughter Annalise who looks forlorn because she has a math test first period.
They go to school in different towns.
Realizing it’ll take longer to get Annalise to school because of the conditions, I quickly get dressed. The icy rain crackles on the windshield, but the travel isn't nearly as bad as I thought it’d be – considering some schools were closed.
I come home from my drive to find the boys happily watching TV.
My tennis time with friends is still on at 9AM, so I ask my dozing fifteen year-old (home from boarding school) to babysit.
Still in their PJs, the boys look comfy and cozy when I kiss them goodbye. I hear them planning a day in the snow and jumping on the trampoline. I realize my day isn't going to be nearly as productive as I’d hoped. It’s the first snow day of the season and now I’m sure the Winchester district will regret their decision. The roads are safe and clear.
At the end of the driveway, I notice a friend walking up our hill, carrying two umbrellas – one adult, one Spiderman.
It hits me.
"Sun-jun," I nervously call out the window. "Is there school today?"
"Yes".
I’ve been duped.
Thankfully, I quickly find the boys weren't trying to pull one over on me. My son Christopher thought he’d seen Winchester scroll up the screen and he’s still convinced the TV station made a mistake. Very likely it said Winchendon, a town about an hour away that apparently gets a load more snow than us and throws us off all winter.
When you're ten years old and your eyes and heart are hoping for "Winchester" at 6AM, “Winchendon” looks even more like “Winchester”. I remember the same excitement when I was little - staring at the screen, influenced by a mixture of hope and snow-day delirium.
The next time they say "we don't have school" with a twinkle in their eyes and an extra skip in their step, I'm double-checking.
"Mom, we don't have school!"
"But I do,” says my teenage daughter Annalise who looks forlorn because she has a math test first period.
They go to school in different towns.
Realizing it’ll take longer to get Annalise to school because of the conditions, I quickly get dressed. The icy rain crackles on the windshield, but the travel isn't nearly as bad as I thought it’d be – considering some schools were closed.
I come home from my drive to find the boys happily watching TV.
My tennis time with friends is still on at 9AM, so I ask my dozing fifteen year-old (home from boarding school) to babysit.
Still in their PJs, the boys look comfy and cozy when I kiss them goodbye. I hear them planning a day in the snow and jumping on the trampoline. I realize my day isn't going to be nearly as productive as I’d hoped. It’s the first snow day of the season and now I’m sure the Winchester district will regret their decision. The roads are safe and clear.
At the end of the driveway, I notice a friend walking up our hill, carrying two umbrellas – one adult, one Spiderman.
It hits me.
"Sun-jun," I nervously call out the window. "Is there school today?"
"Yes".
I’ve been duped.
Thankfully, I quickly find the boys weren't trying to pull one over on me. My son Christopher thought he’d seen Winchester scroll up the screen and he’s still convinced the TV station made a mistake. Very likely it said Winchendon, a town about an hour away that apparently gets a load more snow than us and throws us off all winter.
When you're ten years old and your eyes and heart are hoping for "Winchester" at 6AM, “Winchendon” looks even more like “Winchester”. I remember the same excitement when I was little - staring at the screen, influenced by a mixture of hope and snow-day delirium.
The next time they say "we don't have school" with a twinkle in their eyes and an extra skip in their step, I'm double-checking.
Jean Yih Kingston
Jean Kingston, who co-founded SixSeeds, spends many of her waking hours in her SUV hauling carloads of children to various and sundry playing fields across the state of Massachusetts. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
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