An Apology of Sorts aka The Great Snow Debate

Dear Mom and Dad,

I need to apologize.  Sort of anyway.  You know when you see something happening in your own home that you remember happening in your childhood, and you understand it from a completely different perspective now that you are a parent?  Yeah.  That.  It's not the first apology I've ever made to you, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but I feel the need to clear the air over the Great Snow Debate that happened every year when we were kids.

I can remember clear as day, the arguments Mark, Loni and Kyla and I used to have at the first sight of snow.  Maybe these arguments were unique to our family. I don't know.  But whatever genetics that predisposed all of us to thinking we (or at least me) were always right/ mini-meteorologists has been passed down in spades to all five of our kids. The conversation, way back then was the same at it is now:

"Oh look! It's snowing!"

"That's not snow - it's mixed rain and snow."

"No, it's for sure snowing.  See!  It's starting to stick!!"

"No, it's not, it's actually more like slush.  It's NOT going to stay."

"Nooo! It's at least rain mixed with snow...Dad?  Wouldn't you say it's at least mixed snow with rain, or more like rain with snow?"

"Mom, where are my snow pants?"

"Do you know where my mittens are? it's definitely starting to stick."

"Why are you looking for mittens?  It's not even snowing at all."

"Where's a ruler?  I'm going to measure it..."

And on and on and on and on....

I'm certain this happened every time it snowed/ almost snowed/ rained thick rain.

We, much like my kids now,  would spend the entire time with noses pressed against cold windows, wondering, hoping, and wishing that it would stick, and making silent prayers hoping that we would be the one that got it right on the meteorological composition of the wonderful stuff falling from the sky.

How you managed to listen to this same debate multiple times a year without losing your mind is one of the great mysteries of parenting. I'm sorry I put you through it.

I haven't gone insane yet over snow predictions time five kids here yet this year, but I'm certainly having to have a constant inner dialogue reminding me not to be a kill-joy and say "Whatever it is, it will probably be rain my the morning.  Stop arguing about something you can't control!!!"

Pot....meet Kettle

And yet, even with all the craziness of the great snow debate every year, I have to admit that it's a memory I will treasure, even if it's just way deep down right now. One day the house will be quiet and it will just be Josh and I looking out at the snow and there will be no kids running to the window, or making up snow to rain ratios in the van as we're driving around town, and I think I might even miss it.

And for the record, it's absolutely 100% snowing right now, and I have some mittens to find for some kids that are growing up way too fast.