Seven Quick Takes

1. We have had a strange weekend in light of the sad, sad news of Wendy's death . . . Strange and yet absolutely normal in other respects. An irreplaceable soul is gone from her family, and yet everything else goes on. Kids ride bikes. Mothers buy groceries. Dads do the Boy Scout service project. Perfectly average, but off, off.

Winter in Augusta - Exhibit A

2. Tim had his wisdom teeth pulled on Friday. Will I sound ghoulish if I admit that I've thoroughly enjoyed babying him? He was pathetic for just a short window, but kinda needy and unusually sweet most of the weekend. With a mouth full of gauze, he had a lisp even cuter than John, age 3. He's on the road to recovery, but sporting a pair of swollen cheeks and still living on mac and cheese and re-fried beans. I needed someone to baby, and he was a willing candidate.

3. Before hopping in the car Saturday, I dutifully put our new license tags carefully in place, feeling quite proud of myself for remembering. And today I discovered that I affixed the sticker for the truck onto the van which may prove problematic when Dave drives into work tomorrow. God bless that husband of mine. He's out in the driveway right now cheerfully trying to correct the error of my ways. The scary thing? I read the registration and still got it backwards.

4. So we had snow and twelve degree weather just four days ago, and today it was 66. I have to say, I was more excited about the snow than the kids were. The storm began with an hour or two of freezing rain, and just when I thought it was all much ado about nothing, I heard a scream coming from the backyard. I knew the snow had arrived. When I woke up Wednesday morning, I ran to the window and immediately thought of a Bible song Ainsley likes to sing: Come and see what the Lord has done. He has done amazing things on the earth.

Winter in Augusta - Exhibit B

Snow is an amazing thing.

5. But not if you live in Atlanta. Never again will I snicker when we take a cautious approach to inclement weather. Without plows or salt trucks, the safest strategy is to Keep! Everyone! Home! My friend's brother spent ten hours driving ten miles during the snowpocalypse in Atlanta. (Snowpocalypse is clever, but Snowmageddon is even better.)

6. And snow's not so great if you're getting record quantities of it. As Ainsley stared out the window waiting for those elusive first flakes to fall, she turned to me and said, "My grandma never prays for snow."

I think that's an accurate statement.

7. Get your flu shot, baby your teenager while you still can, give a loved one an extra hug, read the vehicle registration twice before affixing your sticker, and head to Jen's to add your Seven Quick Takes.