Snow Daze

Snowmegadon (Yeah, I meant to spell it that way. John pronounces it like snow-MEGA-don.) has struck the Atlanta area and the Nelsons are surviving.

My school closed early on Tuesday as the snow began to fall. I made the wise decision to get gas before getting on the interstate and proceeded to sit in traffic for three hours. Right before I left school a mom had dropped off lunches from a cancelled meeting. I grabbed a curry chicken salad, not really thinking I needed it. But I ended up eating it in the car when time for my afternoon snack rolled around. John picked up the kids before the day care closed a little early. They were all waiting for me when I got home.

School was cancelled again Wednesday and today (Thursday) and I've gotten the word it is cancelled tomorrow, too. A lot of the snow and ice has melted today, but may refreeze tonight. Also, some teachers and families have iced roads near them, and/or haven't retrieved their cars.

Tuesday night I had a google+ meeting with a storytelling buddy since our usual Atlanta storytelling events were cancelled.

Wednesday I bundled the kids like they were going on a sleigh ride and we walked to Grandmommy's house.

They also had a blanket across their laps once we got started. It is about a mile to Grandmommy's and there was plenty of snow and ice, so we took it slow. Once we got there I jogged on the treadmill while the kids played in the basement. Then we had lunch and played outside.

The snow was too powdery to make snow balls or a snow man and Horatio refused to walk on it.

After a while we came home.

After breakfast this morning, I took the kids out in our backyard. I thought Virginia might like to drive in her little car, but the one-wheel drive couldn't cope with the conditions. Horatio ended up sitting in the stationary car since he still didn't want to walk in the snow.

Socrates came out briefly, but he wasn't a fan of getting wet paws. 

Then Virginia figured out that the snow in the sun was sticky enough for snowballs. First we made a snowman.

Then Virginia asked to have a snowball fight. It was more like a snowball duel, because she insisted that we both form a ball, then face each other, and fire at the same time. Horatio loved watching this and we started throwing balls at the car and a nearby tree so he could watch them explode. This game was the biggest hit of the morning and cleared a lot of snow out of our yard!

Who knows what entertainment we will come up with for tomorrow.

I am so thankful that we are all together safe at home during what has been a very difficult time for so many. I'm glad that we have been able to enjoy each other and the snow.

Peach State Festival and NSN Board Meeting

I feel like sometimes I write more about things that I'm thinking than things that I'm doing, so here is the busy weekend I just had:

Last Thursday night, the Peach State Storytelling Festival began with Stories on the Edge of Night, which I attended and thoroughly enjoyed. John watched the kids and I got home late.

On Friday, I went straight from work to the festival where we had our Bard's Feast / Southern Order of Storytellers membership meeting. As a member of the board I gave a presentation on membership, then I volunteered at the ticket table until the evening concert.

At the end of the night I went home late again, where John and the kids were already asleep, and my sister was settling in to our playroom/guest room.

Saturday morning my sister and I were both up early. She was off to a 5K in Atlanta (the reason she stayed the night) and I was just off to run. Horatio had ended up in her bed that night after John and I had both failed to hear him and she couldn't get him back to sleep. I chose not to increase my milage on my long run this week because of all the other stuff going on, so I did just over 6 1/2 miles again.

I got back home to Virginia saying "I don't want to go to storytelling!" But I talked her into it and took her to the festival with me, getting breakfast on the way. She went to the first family-friendly session of stories with Sugar and Mikey, and Aunt 'Manda back from her race, while I took another volunteer shift.

After that we ate lunch and then John met me in the parking lot to pick up Virginia. He also wanted to give me a chance to squeeze Horatio, but he asked for Amanda instead. I guess that's what happens after you spend the night cuddling.

I got to see my mom perform and then I led my oral immersion workshop, ate dinner, and performed. I got home late again, when everyone else was asleep.

On Sunday morning I got up at 3:30. My mom met me at 4 and accompanied me to Jonesboro, TN where I caught the tail end of the National Storytelling Network board meeting. I've just been appointed to the board and really didn't want to miss the entire first meeting. We spent the night in Tennessee and drove home Monday.

John and I picked up the kids from daycare together Monday afternoon and took the car through a carwash to get all the road salt off. Virginia thought it was awesome, but Horatio kept saying, "Done!" I asked if he was worried and he said, "Worry!"

It was a long and exhausting few days during which I didn't see my kids nearly enough. But the storytelling lifestyle is not always so intense. And it is always worthwhile. I love everyone I meet through storytelling. They are my people and this is my world.

An Introvert Parent

I identify as an introvert although the reality may be somewhere closer to the middle of the spectrum. Nevertheless, the things that get to me, as an introvert, really get to me. I hate small talk but love deep conversation. I need to have time alone to recharge. Socializing can be exhausting for me.

Virginia seems to be an extrovert (jury is still out on Horatio - but starting to suspect introvert), which sometimes drags me into situations that are uncomfortable for me. Like when she talks to random people we meet in public and I'm forced into an awkward conversation.

But I'm realizing that having children, no mater what their 'version, leads to special challenges for the introvert parent.

Even when my children don't strike up a conversation with strangers, I'm in more situations now requiring small talk: birthday parties, day care pick up and drop off, any place we play where there are other children and their parents.

And then there is the general noise of children.

I learned from reading Quiet a couple summers ago that the true difference between introverts and extroverts is that introverts are drained by socialization, whereas extroverts are energized by it. This may be an oversimplification, but it is the general idea.

Introverts can easily become overstimulated. So, at the end of the day, when I've been pleasant to my coworkers and students for over 8 hours, and I'm making dinner, and my kids are banging things, twirling around my feet, and giggling-singing-yelling and I start to think I'm going to lose my mind. It isn't my imagination. I've literally had too much and have no more energy left for interacting with people.

I deal with this by taking some time for myself. Sometimes I have time to run by myself (although I often exercise with little helpers). But even if the kids are with me (in the jogging stroller) we can't talk too much and Horatio doesn't pull Virginia's hair the whole time, so I can still kind of be quiet. I've been trying to meditate every day and I find this to be a very efficient way to rest my mind. Television and Internet are fun distractions, but they are still stimulating and so not actually that restful. I can get a big recharge from meditation.

I also now realize what is happening during those moments that are the most difficult for me. I know that the kids aren't being "bad." But for my own sanity I will need to find a way to get them to be quieter or get a little space from them.

Now as I keep hearing about how differently Horatio behaves at day care from at home, I've started wondering if his "even disposition" (yeah, right - the child turns over chairs for fun!) is an expression of introversion. I hope I can help him be true to himself, too.

Maybe John can teach Virginia how to be a good extrovert. (He's a social lightening rod. Very handy at parties.)