SNOW DAY!!!  Yes, indeedy, a snow day!  As a child, these were days that I dreamt of.  As an adult, these are days that I dream of.  LOL  Some things never change. 

I've been in Michigan for a long time, over thirty years now.  I love winter, as any January baby would (yes, I know I was born on an island, but I'm just saying).  It's just a beautiful time of the year when it snows (assuming there is sunshine and some relative warmth).  But AC and old age combined, winter starts to wreak a little havoc on the body.  It hurts to be in this weather.  The notions of moving away constantly floods my mind each day that there is no sun, there is no warmth. 

And then I look at my four bedroom, two and a half bath, two story home on a corner lot.  Our first home.  We've come a long way since that apartment in Troy when we first got married almost ten years ago.  My boys have room to run around, up and down.  I sometimes get a reprieve if I hide in a closet, bathroom or spare bedroom.  LOL  It's not bad.  So when the hubba asks if I would be willing to stay here indefinitely....well, I hesitate.  That's the million dollar question, isn't it? 

We wouldn't stay in this house.  And so he offers me the opportunity to find another home in areas that would allow our boys to explore more, have more friends, more opportunities, etc. etc.  Would it be bad to stay here?  Nooo, but I've been ready to go for a while.  I admit I have more baggage than he may have.  The whole cancer thing is still huge.  No matter where we end up, I need to know that I'm close to a cancer center that has a reputation of being a true cancer center.  Yes, I know I'm on the way to being cured, but I'm not dumb or naive. 

As parents we always want more for our kids.  I definitely want more for mine.  I want them to do more than I ever did.  To say the least, being a biracial/biethnic family has its challenges.  None that stand out in my mind at this moment.  But it is interesting to listen to the issues that he has, versus the issues I had when growing up.  And so that makes me think of our kids.  Race shouldn't be a factor but at some point, it will be in their lives.  I want them prepared to handle being who they are and being proud of that and not backing down from what they believe.  But I want to give them the world, is that wrong?  I want them to experience so many other things and sometimes I think that by staying here, it won't happen.  I realize that's negativity talking, but don't you sometimes wonder how you'll do it?  How will you raise the intellectual, yet street-wise, yet renaissance type of children?  The children that can make a difference in lives, the children that will be happy and successful, the children that love and believe...

I watched my two boys play in the snow.  Shoveling grass, making snow angels, throwing snow everywhere, including back onto the driveway.  And then shuffling back in to get some soup and hot chocolate.  Would I trade this time?  Not at all.  I only wish there were more times like it.