In the past few months I have not blogged frequently enough to keep up with even a tiny fraction of a small slice of our life. To say that I have barely even scratched the surface doesn’t even scratch the surface. But certain things I don’t want to forget. So, over the next few months I’ll be trying to catch up whenever I can on some of the memorable moments that I want to try to remember. This is one of them.
Winter of 2015 involved many snow days. But one, in particular, really stood out to me.
The bambinos’ school was closed for a snow day, but — as is typical — Lehigh was not closed. So, life was — as is typical — chaotic at best on that day. I was about to head to my afternoon class (one of my favorite classes I teach: Race & Ethnicity), and was geared up to bring the bambinos along with me (I was to give the mid-term exam that day), when the notification went out to the entire campus community: Lehigh closing! Kyle, Owen, and Meera ran ahead to my classroom, where many students were already gathered. There was an excited moment when everyone was realizing at once that class was officially cancelled. And then an even more excited moment when I announced: “Does anyone want to come to our house for hot chocolate?!”
I don’t know who was more excited, my students or my bambinos.
But the real winner in all of this is me. A whole crowd of my Race & Ethnicity students, and my own three kids, all headed with me down the campus path to our apartment. The snow was falling clear and white and there was such a feeling of lightness all around. Everyone took off their boots and parkas and piled them in the hall, then crammed into our cozy apartment.
I had hot chocolate and marshmallows on hand (all winter I had been secretly waiting for the perfect spontaneous moment to impromptu do this), and everyone was amazed at how many mugs we own (when you live the kind of life we live, you gotta have enough to go around; one of the many strange details of our unusual lifestyle).
We sipped hot chocolate and cozied up to ride out the afternoon in the snowstorm.
It turned out to be the last really big snow of 2015 — the last time the bambinos had a snow day — and the only day that Lehigh closed this winter.
It was memorable.
I don’t know how much my students will remember from my lectures this semester. But I’m pretty sure they’ll never forget that snow day.
I won’t forget that day either. It is such a gift to me to have those moments.
Look who came to see us today!!!!! Zahir! He asked me who was my most special one (student) of all time. I said, “You.” And he was, somehow, surprised by that.
Kyle and Owen are away at a basketball tournament this weekend, so they missed out. Which made it extra nice for Meera to hang out with Zahir and AK without having to share the attention. (!) And me too… If the boys had been here I wouldn’t have been able to get a word in edgewise. (!)
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