Title-less

I'm exhausted.

This week has been terrible. Over the course of the last seven days, all three kids have been sick. Sissy is the lucky one, as her sickness seems to be gone after just a day. Bubby and Chancho have this lingering illness that could be the common cold or croup, but it's hard to tell which. Everyone is cranky and whiney (including mommy and daddy) and I think we're all ready for spring to arrive.

But then I look outside at the 5 inches of snow on our deck and the complete whiteness of everything else, and I'm reminded that we've still got a lot of winter left.

I admit, I spend much of the winter wishing it was gone. I hate being even the teeniest bit cold. I hate bundling up. I hate icy roads and most of all, I hate being cooped up in the house and the germs that seem to feast on us when we're here. I just want sunshine and warmth and to wear flip flops and capri pants.

But the snow sure is pretty. And our front yard makes for an awesome sled-riding hill, which Sissy and I christened yesterday for 2009. And regardless of the temperature, the kids don't seem to mind the winter. They see the promise of fun and hot chocolate and a surprise snowday with every snowflake that falls.

So here I sit, the few minutes of sanity I've stolen for myself are being used up on the Internet. We won't be going to church today and I won't be making my weekly pilgrimage to Walmart. Instead, I'll be serving grilled cheese and soup to my patients and holding prayer vigils as I sit with them while they sleep on the couch. Maybe later, if I'm brave, I'll invite Sissy outside to hit the slopes with me. Or maybe I'll just turn up the furnace and pretend it's summer.