"Ice Day!"

Was quite surprised, but joyful, to get the 6:50 phone call this morning from my vice principal informing me that school was cancelled today. Roads around were too hazardous to travel after a night of rain and then freezing temperatures in early morning. Mostly overjoyed for the kids, as I hadn't begun the arduous task of rousing them from their cozy slumber yet--only had flicked on the light, which penetrates near-imperceptibly into their underslept and over-burdened consciouslessnesses. Felt like such a hero quietly flicking off their light and leaving the kids to their uninterrupted dreams for several more hours. Both are diligently trying to fight away a few annoying throat/nose/head discomforts, so getting more sleep was definitely a bonus for them this morning. Now followed by a restful weekend, maybe they will whip this bug before they get real down and out. They are blessed by so seldom being sick that it is extra frustrating for them on the rare occasion that something does catch up with them. They both finally arose around 10:30 or so, and have enjoyed some relaxing Wii game competition while being force-fed popsicles and hounded to keep guzzling water.

Both stayed after school on Thursday to audition for their all-school musical production of Singing in the Rain. Lovely daughter had stayed on Wednesday as well. Doesn't seem there is usually a long wait for the cast posting, so they should know how busy their next several weeks may be soon enough. Our "Princess" is also in an Acting class this semester, so will get to perform in a play for sure in May; don't know what it will be yet, as their teacher said he will tell them once all the class has completed presenting their "Monologue Triple Play" assignment. Daughter was up too late researching, choosing, and memorizing pieces for this assignment early in the week. She ended up choosing Theseus' speech about the creative imaginations of lovers, poets, and madmen from A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Kevin Bacon character (Ren)'s plea to the city council for allowing their senior class to have a dance from the 80's movie Footloose, and the elven introduction of Lord of the Rings relaying the history of the Ring of Power. She had them well memorized and volunteered to perform on the first day. Fun for her, even if contributing to a bit of stress and sleep deprivation. Such is the life of high school students in 2009.

Have spent ample time with the son recently handling "paperwork" for all the college, testing, and financial-aid issues; however, the true blessing is that it isn't "paperwork" anymore. Amazing how quick, easy, and direct it is doing it all on the computer. He has been accepted and offered scholarship monies by both Concordia-Moorhead and MSU-Bozeman so far, but is still waiting to hear from his top choice, MIT (Boston). They don't reveal news to their applicants until April, so we're still trying to meet all the deadlines and keep the options open. Son does seem to get pretty excited reading about all the math courses and interesting opportunities that may await him in college. Quite a journey, I'm sure, that God has planned for our son; will be exciting to watch Him reveal the mysteries of His plans, and let Him guide us all through it.

Still find myself connecting on Facebook often--probably too much time spent there--but what a blessing to hear from l-o-n-g ago friends from high school or college! Staying just briefly and snippet-ed-ly in touch with extended family there is great too--especially compared to the usually "no news is good news" word of non-digital life. And all the photos--what stupendous serendipity to partake of! So, am praying for help finding a happy balance of my time spent on "tech-connections" and face-to-face communication. Any thoughts or ideas on this issue to contribute? Am curious of others' perspectives and opinions.

In the interest of not creating a distraction from the heavy homework load, we didn't turn on the TV on Super Bowl day; knew we could watch the fun ads on You Tube later, and we're not really a sports-oriented family. This resulted in a "family contest" to see who could be the latest in learning of the results of the game. I happened to lose first when I connected to Facebook that evening to immediately have posts flash in front of my eyes announcing someone's joy or gloom over their team's loss or win. Daughter confessed after school on Monday that she thought she was the loser as she apparently overheard friends' Super Bowl conversations right away when arriving in the morning. Son declared himself the winner, as he managed to last until 4th period before inadvertantly learning of the Steelers' win. Amusing how we find to amuse ourselves.

So, school personnel always comment on how February is the "longest" month--even though it has the fewest days. Something to do with mid-year apathy, lack of motivation, and long stretches with no breaks. I was feeling that this week. What a blessed little surprise God gave me today with the "Ice-Day" cancellation. I'll say it again: what an amazing and mysterious Lord we have! He displays His love and care for all people in the most creative and unexpected ways. Praise Him, and may you all discover Him and His mysteries mightily this week, month. Blessings, friends!