Lewis Ginter Springtime Magic

Yesterday we headed out to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens for Sam's school field trip. As always Lewis Ginter surprised me with its overwhelming beauty. And then as always, I mused, "Why don't we come here more often?" Hopefully we will be back soon to this truly lovely place, but this time I'll bring along some Benadryl for sure. (Insert sounds of menacing music here.) Yes, there is a story here. And sadly by the end of it you will agree there will no Mother of the Year Award for me this year for sure.

Although I've got plenty of other ailments, I've never had springtime allergies. However, Daddy Mac does as well as Sam. Since I've never had to deal with them myself, I'm a bit clueless to how they work. (One could argue that I am a bit clueless about everything!) For some reason Richmond is horrible for allergies. One day out of the blue, all of s sudden there will be a layer of yellow-green pollen on EVERYTHING outside -- coating cars, driveways, walkways, door handles, mailboxes, etc. So far this year I hadn't seen that distinctive

green film yet, but I knew it was coming soon. So with this field trip, I had meant to give Sam some allergy medicine before leaving, and even wrote a note to myself to do so. Unfortunately I didn't actually read the note until after we left and so forgot to give it to him.

So off he went to his hour-long class from 10-11 AM, and I had a great time strolling around the grounds on an absolutely gorgeous day with a friend, looking forward to spending the whole day there. Well, at 11, the class came walking up full of smiles. As I looked over at Sam, I must have gasped out loud! His eye lids were swollen up like golf balls, and one eye was almost completely shut. (No, no pictures!) And there he was, rubbing away and looking miserable. And then of course I realized we didn't have any allergy medicine with us, although we had enough cold drinks to quench the thirst of a small army. My bad!

As I was about to whisk him off in search of the nearest CVS, one of the other more prepared mothers ran to the car to get some Bendadryl. Thank God someone was prepared! Then I washed off his hands and face about five times, and by then he was not looking as horrible. As it turned out, his eyes flared up that much just in the last 2-3 minutes! At the end of the class, the kids had held fresh flowers, smelled them, and even made pictures by squishing them. Aargh!

So by 11:10 AM, we were headed on out to the parking lot, no afternoon in the flower gardens for us. And there coating the car was a thick layer of pollen... It's officially official now -- spring has sprung here in Richmond!


LibbY

Deja Vu

Hey, I've got this funny feeling that we've done all this before. That's because WE HAVE, just a week ago! Yes, for Richmond this weekend's blitz was an "encore" snowstorm eerily similar to the big blast we got last Saturday -- a big ole foot of snow. Actually I think we got even more snow this time, and it is definitely colder out there which doesn't bode well for ice.

Since school was cancelled pretty much all last week around here, it is not looking so good for this week either. Needless to say, mothers are "digging deep" to keep their sanity with bored, rambunctious kids to entertain or at least subdue. Monday is already cancelled, and I am bracing myself for a few more days (daze) of it -- again. Plus there is talk now of "wintry mix" on Tuesday, so that's a given no-go, a preemptive strike in case the weather gets bad. (In case you are wondering, I have no idea what "wintry mix" means, but I do know it means nothing good.)

I really don't mind school being cancelled because we got tons of snow. I get that just fine and wholeheartedly agree that it often makes complete and total sense for the kids' safety, which is paramount. However, what does "bust my buffers" (as our friend Thomas the Tank Engine would say) is this: EVERYONE IS OUT ANYWAY!

Yes, everyone is out and about with their kids in tow, looking for something, anything to do outside of the confines of the house. Actually I think people are out driving MORE because they are trying to keep the little people occupied. (Christmas presents are officially old by now, so yesterday.) Needless to say, you'd think being on the roads would defeat the very purpose of the cancellation itself. Alas, not really because the roads are great. They are clear, baby, clear!

So bring on some school or at least a late arrival soon. Pretty please with sugar on top?

LibbY

On the flip side, and it is much wetter so making a snowman (or snowmen) was a real option.