View from the hill: March...so close to spring....

Yet so far away.

This past week was school vacation week. We had planned to go away with 2 other Mom/kids for the 3 days in the middle of the week. All was well. Until the weather report last Sunday. A snowy slushy mess for Tuesday. We didn't want to chance driving in crap on Tuesday, so we accepted my parents invite to crash there for the night on Monday night. 3 women, 5 kids. OK then.

Let me digress for just a moment, and carry on a bit about the weather situation here in the northeast. Issue # 1 we have had a MOMENTOUS amount of snow since early December, and while you would think that New England drivers know how to handle themselves behind the wheel of a car in a snowstorm, you'd be dead wrong. Traffic this winter has been like a bad movie. Backups, you bet. Major traffic JAMS? Oh yeah. It took a friend 3 hours to get from Concord, NH to Boston just last week. TWICE the amount of time it should have taken. Issue #2, the weather people can't get it CLOSE to right. Remember my first paragraph? The snow was supposed to start "early Tuesday morning". The snow ACTUALLY started LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON. Good job you guys, with all your doppler this, and radar scopes you STILL can't predict the weather.

Off we went to Mom & Dad's. Everyone was happy, Anna was coughing, but no other issues. The kids all got settled, the 3 ladies sat down to converse with Mom & Dad...all is well. Until 1 am. Anna, who sleeps in my parent's room when we are there SPRINTED down the hallway. I heard the foot falls, and then a very unwelcome noise from the upstairs bathroom. That would be my kid. DAMN. Mom was there, we got Anna sorted, really, the coughing caused a gag thing..(whew!) but in related news...she was burning up. Tylenol I had with me (no idea why..) so she got a dose and off to bed with me this time.

We left the following morning, and arrived in full sunshine at the resort. AHHH....The wave pool was as we remembered...the rooms were nice and clean....I was happy to be there. Now of course, the nasty cough had come with us, and the fever too but there didn't seem to be any other ill effects. Tylenol every 4 hours seemed to do the trick. I try very hard to be nonchalant about illnesses..but the fever was bugging me. Her activity level was good, so we kept on with our plan.

Manicures and pedicures for the little girls, massages for the Mamas...soaking in the hot tub, playing in the pool, reading, knitting...relaxing. A wonderful time away. It was so good, that we decided to add on another night, and we didn't get back until yesterday. The return trip was only marred by 2 things. Thing 1, one family's kids BOTH had stomach issues on the return trip. Sadly, one of the kids was in MY car. UGH. But most of the mess was on the child, and not my car's interior, so disaster averted. The 2 sick kids rode the last 45 minutes up the highway in their family vehicle "just in case". ;) Thing 2 was the fact that last night through today, we were to receive ANOTHER foot of snow. Now listen, that's just not funny. I have to head outside and take some photos. It's almost too much to be believed.

I am thankful I didn't head to tropical climes during this vacation week. While for some it is helpful to escape the snow and cold, it is an insult to me to return. I'd rather stay here and suffer until June.

I don't want to even think about MUD SEASON which is all we ever have of spring.

Just in case you don't believe me....Photographic proof....