This post is purely for the entertainment of people NOT in the midwest on this day of historic record cold temperatures. And, there are bad words in this post. Whoops.
Today, EVERYTHING around me is closed.
- Schools are closed.
- Federal, state, and municipal offices are closed.
- Libraries and park districts are closed.
- Postal deliveries and trash pickup are suspended.
This is how SERIOUS the cold weather threat is. This cold is DEADLY. Like freaking deadly.
And yet, on local FB groups, there are actually people in my neighborhood who are mocking parents at this moment.
“You gave birth to them! Spend a day with them, for God’s sake!”
Seemingly innocent, from one who has no children, right? That may be all well and good, but what about this off-the-wall advice?
“Get off your butt and take your kids someplace educational!”
Ummmmm… No.
The point of a day like this is to keep people in warm and safe places (HOME) and off the roads.
My take on this?
Please.
Let them sleep in.
When they get up, make them a warm and yummy breakfast.
Sure, ask them to do a chore or two (not twenty).
And do something together — not just movie watching, but something creative or fun or unusual.
- Bake something and let them help a little. Do NOT kill the experience by over-measuring, re-doing, or faking any part of the process to achieve the perfect end product.
- Read a book together that they’d NEVER choose. You could even choose something a year or two below their current reading level. Do it just for fun.
- Make play-dough from scratch. Make something crazy or dumb. Just have fun.
- Tolerate a mani/pedi for yourself (or the dog). Bonus points if you tolerate more than 3 nail polish colors in one sitting.
- Watch an endless stream of videos about baby alpacas. Seriously. They are so cute!
- Sing along to Disney songs that you hate but they love.
- Actually WATCH them play 20 minutes of Minecraft. Do this without interrupting their game. Try really hard to figure out (without asking) why they did certain things in the game. You’d be amazed at how much cognitive work goes into playing this game.
- Ask them to show you another game they like. I watched my kid play about 20 minutes of the Kerbal Space Program one morning. I had no idea that he had a detailed knowledge of the scientific terms of periapsis and apoapsis. (WHAT in the holy hell is that? Seriously.)
- Or if they are older, actually LISTEN to the songs on their playlist at full volume. Watch their favorite YouTube channels with them, etc.
Really, it doesn’t matter what you choose. But they may remember this No School Day more than you will ever know.
It’s all up to you.
Will they remember this day as the one that you all ended up on the floor because you were laughing so hard about a classic Monty Python scene, or will they remember this as the day that you actually made them iron the draperies and sort the socks?
My mom made me do the latter. Not lying. And here I am, writing about it, 37 years later.
I’d love to hear about what you did with YOUR Cold Weather Day with your kids.
I’m a writer, coach, and publisher. What can I do for you?
Photo permissions owned by Kymberli Mulford, Inc.
Photo permissions owned by Kymberli Mulford, Inc.