Family Day

My husband took today off so we could have a family day. None of the kids had school.

Last night, my son said he wanted to go to sleep fast so the morning would get here quicker. He asked Daddy to "not cancel the trip".

As the kids slept, my husband and I gathered our snow pants, gloves, hats, and sleds. My husband and I packed lunch and I baked some oatmeal chocolate chip bars for our trip to Adventure Mountain on Lake Tahoe.

And then, my daughter woke up at 10:30 with a 103 fever.

My husband decided he would still take the boys and "not cancel the trip".

My daughter cried when we told her she couldn't go. We told her at night in case she was still sleeping in the morning. Tears were shed by one of the boys this morning when he found out we all couldn't go.
It was a sad morning.

I brought my daughter's single bed mattress downstairs so she could snuggle with her favorite blanket and, essentially, watch a few movies in her bed. I made sure she drank during the day. I rubbed her back. I gave her more Tylenol when it was time. We shut all of the blinds and turned off all of the lights so it would be dark enough to take a nap. I rested on the couch next to her while she napped. I loved her with all of my might and comforted her with all of my compassion.

Meanwhile, my husband took the boys on a trip that he had to be convinced to go on in the first place. It was a trip that he wasn't entirely excited about. One that he wanted to do for me -for the family. He took the boys and had a fantastic time. He went down long sledding hills. He's sure he's going to be sore tomorrow. They had a snowball fight with another dad and his kids. He took pictures of the boys building a snow fort. He took video of them sledding down the hill. The pictures and videos were for me.The smiles, the laughter, the joy was wonderful for to see.

It wasn't the perfect family day.
But also- it was.
The perfect expression of family love.

Sometimes nothing turns out like it is supposed to... and we are able to make the best of it anyway. That's a great family day.