Snowpocalypse, Part 592. No, really, Part 6

Aaaand, we have moved into the Mountain Resort Outside Our Front Window stage of Snowpocalypse 2016. When I staggered out of bed at noon this morning (after staying up waaay too late to watch "The Martian" with Drew, but, dammit, I really needed some relief after the stressful weekend), I saw that preteen and teenage boys had started snowboarding -- snowboarding! shirtless -- shirtless! down our street. Rachel and I tried sledding together, but it was no use -- we couldn't find a good path through the snow. After a while we gave up and tried to walk to a local hill she had pointed out to me this past summer, but halfway there (along the bike path that had been colonized by cross-country skiers) she sat down, put her head in my lap, informed that she wished she didn't have to go to extended day at school because she likes spending time with me, and then decided she wanted to head back home. Good thing, too, since I had to work again from home, again on early deadlines, which meant I had to sign on at 2:30 p.m. instead of 3:30.

When we got back home, we saw that our neighbor had used a snowblower to carve out the snow from his neighbor's car. And the snowboarding boys had donned their shirts and were -- seriously -- carving MOGULS into the snow to make the course on our street harder (which, my neighbor's wife pointed out, means that it will be even more difficult for the snowplows to plow us out). Sigh. (Ironically, Rachel had asked me on the way home what black diamonds were, and I had to explain the downhill ski-trail system to her -- which included the fact that Grandpa used to ski black diamonds when he was younger, but the best Mommy has been able to do is blue runs:)).

While I worked, Drew took Rachel outside and, apparently, our street was much better for sledding. They stayed out for HOURS, came back, then went to a bonfire Billy and Jenny built. "How was the party?" I asked Rachel when they got back (I was still working at that point). "It wasn't a party," Rachel said, slightly exasperated. "It was just a fire in a trash barrel and some snacks."

I had to laugh.

Oh, and she's off from school tomorrow (Tuesday) AND Wednesday. At that point, Rachel will have been out of school for an entire week. She said tonight, as I was kissing her tonight, that that must be some sort of record for Arlington schools, and I had to agree.