Schools closing throughout Minnesota due to extreme cold temperatures and arctic wind chills. Kids all over are doing the happy dance including my own. Parents not able to take a day off are panicking, trying to sort out bartered and traded child care. I am fortunate to have a daughter who is old enough for self care and a husband less than 5 minutes away from home. I expect to get texts and messages from my staff that have no options but to stay home. No one will be penalized for not being able to make it into work, though will need to use a vacation day, work from home, or flex their work week to make up lost hours. When my kids were young, I had a slew of family and friends, and always had understanding and accommodating employers for school closings or child sick days. There were days where my house was command central and I stayed home, while neighbors and siblings went to work and left their kids with me.
Not all families have the safety net of family or friends to help with back up care. For too many families, the choices are bleak. Stay home, and they risk job security and no wages. Leave young kids with an older student, and hope they are mature enough as a baby sitter to cope with a full day of care. Worse, leave children not really old enough for self care alone, and pray all goes well. I have no solutions, but know this is why we need to invest personal time and energy in building friendships and communities. No parent should have to make those tough, even dangerous decisions.
As a humane society, all lives are better when we make the most vulnerable feel secure. This does not have to come from hand outs and the welfare system, but neighbors and fellow parents that share in the idea that safe and healthy children, in supported families, grow into safe and healthy productive adults. I might have a Pollyanna view, and know there are people treated like door mats by fellow parents that never reciprocate for a child care favor, or even express appreciation. Too me, that's not community or friendship, but manipulation or misaligned sense of entitlement. I've no patience for either. However, all of us go through peaks and valleys when we're in positions to do a favor without expectation for return, and when we have need of the receiving end of the help. I'd like to think when children are involved, the willingness to pitch in is a bit higher. This is all just my humble opinion. Stay warm everyone.
After a satisfying walk that tired me out, but also felt so good to be outdoors, I figured I would ration my energy today and start getting things done for myself. I carefully timed out what I could accomplish in 90 minutes, driveway to driveway. I got DD#2 and DS's gifts mailed, with an arrival of Tuesday the 22nd. Postage probably cost more than what I spent on the contents as I was a clever shopper, but it will make me feel good knowing they have some gifts to open. To my surprise, the post office was virtually empty, so that was a fast errand. I ran into a former well liked teacher of all three kids, who kindly asked about them all. He hoped DD#2 was on the mend from flu, noting how many of his middle schoolers had been out.
I sent some gift bundles of nibbles and treats direct from the companies-crossing fingers they arrive on time. I think they will be able to be creative and make a pretty good Christmas gathering with their new friends and each other. DD#2 was feeling a little down today about being away again at Christmas so was going to head out and get some baking ingredients and put herself in the seasonal mood. She is my snow and cold girl, so last year spending it in what to her felt like a warm London and this year in California doesn't feel right. DS, unless he is on a snowboard, never cared for the snow and cold, so he is in his element. He also has always had a more detached personality-able to be his own best company, where as she likes the circle and safety of family.
My next stop was Walgreen's where I found the sugar free box of holiday candy that DD#2 gives her grandpa, and a few other necessities, along with picking up the on-line cards I ordered. Most I will hand out at Christmas Eve and day gatherings, since I am so late anyway, but will get in Monday's mail, if I get the cards addressed tomorrow, to family and friends we will not see. I'm quite proud of how I did the card with being semi laid up. It is sort of a collage card because I did not have a picture this year of the five of us, or even all three kids. Instead it is a little snapshot of our year by kid, with the larger middle picture of the three of us living at home posed in front of Stonehenge. I spent only $30 on 80 customized cards using an on-line coupon. Next I hit the jackpot picking up the Caribou coffee shop gift cards I give to my five non-manager direct staff, and DD#2's church choir director and confirmation teacher. The deal was buy two $10 cards, get a $5 card bonus. I went ahead and got eight of the $10, so now have an extra $10, and four $5 on hand for any impromptu gifts needed, or heck, for a gift to myself.
My last stop, and at the 60 minute mark was to the grocery store for the items I would be bringing Christmas Eve to my sisters and Christmas day to my MIL. I popped the last dollar bill and whatever change I had into the red kettle on the way in. I have been the ham lady for the last 5 years or so on my side of the family. Prior to that, I had never made a bone in ham, so offered to give it a try when another sister wanted to make something else. Ham has been my dish since, along with an appetizer I make out of crescent roll dough, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, and lots of Italian seasonings. We just call them "puffy things."
While looking at hams, I was starting to kick myself for not having purchased weeks ago before being laid up. The hams were all at $3.99 a pound or more, when I had been seeing them for $1.79. I and an older gentleman were looking at the options. Out loud he said, "I guess there are no full hams left, just half's." I happened to be standing over a section that had several whole, so I pointed it out to him. I noticed he was holding the store flyer, I didn't think to look at, with a $1.79 per pound coupon. We chatted a bit about how much ham we each needed. I learned his wife makes an incredible brown sugar and coca cola glaze, and then a ham gravy. I shared I use ginger ale on mine, and then slice and keep warm in the crockpot, stewing in all the juices, until we eat later Christmas Eve. He explained that the reason whole hams are so hard to find, and are rarely on sale is that the butcher cuts them in half, packages the centers as expensive ham steaks, and sells the butts as half hams. I didn't know that. We chatted a bit more, and then I picked out mine, grabbed a circular for the coupon, and the rest of my shopping and headed to the check out.
I ended up being behind that same man. He had purchased three half hams, but could only have one per transaction with the coupon. He apologized that he had to make me wait for three different ring ups. I was starting to get fatigued, but he was so kind, of course I reassured him it was no bother. When it was my turn, a cub scout, bagging groceries as a fund raiser, asked me if I wanted help bagging. I didn't have that much, maybe two bags worth, and remember I had given the last of my money to the kettle on the way in, so nothing to tip. The sweet scout said, "that's ok-I don't need a tip." Well here is where the holiday spirit was in full force. The man ahead of me that was gathering up his three hams, told the boy, "I got this" and handed him a tip on my behalf. I wished him and his family the most wonderful Christmas.
In the hustle and bustle and stress of the season, it really is little acts of kindness, impromptu meetings and conversations, and appreciation of the gift of others in our communities that makes the season magical. As I was leaving, I noticed the bell ringer at the kettle was sitting in the deli area eating an apple, on probably a much needed beak. He gave me a warm smile and nod on my way out. It was a good morning full of peace and glad tidings.
