James Wilcox
A master of whatever is required by the day! A high school social studies teacher, published author, father of 3, stay home Mr. Mom during the summer and being an attentive husband are just a few things that keep James on his toes. In his spare time James is a writer and photographer. Before returning to school for his Master's Degree in Education James was a photo journalist for the Independence Examiner. James is active in FIRE (Foundation for Inclusive Religious Education) and is actively involved at the CCVI (Children's Center for the Visually Impaired). He is also busy learning braille with his son Nathan who lives with the effects of ROP, Nathan was a micro-preemie who was born at 24 weeks gestation. James and his family live in Kansas City. To Read about James' book, "Sex, Lies and the Classroom," or order your own copy, visit JamesPWilcox.com
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Snow Days
by: James Wilcox
published on: 1/9/2010 12:00:00 AM
Getting through this week has been a challenge for many of us, as we have battled the snow, the slick roads and the frigid temperatures. The fact that every child in the city got at least two days off of school didn’t make life any easier.
Now it should be easy for me because I am a teacher. Unfortunately, I work for a private school and my children attend a different private school, which means the schedules do not always coincide. Wednesday was a unique day due to the fact that I had a snow day, but my kids did not. Getting a “surprise” day off of work is always nice, but it is especially enjoyable when I get the home by myself. I did feel a little guilty packing the kids off to school, when I got to stay home. The guilt didn’t last long as I spent the days cleaning up all the toys in our upstairs playroom. I collected two large trash bags of trash and broken, unsalvageable toys and another three bags of toys to either pass on or donate (heck, we could have a garage sale). Cleaning the room literally took the entire day, but I was able to do it without endless arguments as to why we should keep a broken toy that no one has played with, touched, or thought about in six months.
Thursday was special because I had my second snow day of the year and I got to enjoy the day with my kids. Every one had the day off, except my wife who still had to go into work. We spent a lazy day taking down my daughter crib and setting up the toddler bed (she will be three next month), reading books, playing the Wii, pulling out the tools and fixing broken toys (the ones that were salvageable), and briefly sledding in the front yard before the cold took its toll.
On Friday, my Wednesday was reversed: my children had a snow day, but I had to go into school. Thank goodness grandma and grandpa were available to watch the kids. As I slugged my way through the school day, I realized just what my kids were thinking on Wednesday: that it was not fair they had school when I didn’t, just like I thought it was unfair that I had school when they didn’t. I was completely taken by surprise when I picked the boys up this afternoon when I found grandpa teaching them how to play poker. When I asked why he was teaching them how to play poker, he asked “What else are we going to do in this cold weather?” I didn’t have a good answer to that.
tagged with: Snow
Winter
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