Saturday, January 10, 2015

The balaclava is in the backpack, humoring grandma

School was closed again yesterday.
First the 5:15 am call,
"Start of school is delayed two hours, due to deteriorating weather conditions."
I relayed the message to Emily, to pass along to Laura,
and went back to sleep.
Near 8 am, the second call, no school.

It was a beautiful day yesterday, near 15 degrees.
But, I understand the school business manager's call.
When I picked up Laura and Liam from jazz practice Wednesday night,
they each were bundled head to toe.

But, I watched a stream of youngsters emerge and climb into cars with running engines,
dressed in summer shorts and light jackets.
What are their parents thinking?
The business manager has caved.

Back to the present. At the balaclava store I asked Emily if she thought Laura would wear a balaclava to the bus stop.
"No way in Hell."
So, I purchased just one. 

This morning, in the garage, at 7:30 am,
leaving for the ski run.

"Do you have the balaclava?"
"Yes, Gramma."
"Do you have sunscreen?"
"Yes, Gramma."


What a difference a week makes in the morning light!
Four inches of snow and a week of really cold weather make the slopes look official.





The sunrise on my way home.


End of shift.
The black above her eyes and down her cheeks is the balaclava.
It covers her chin.
She would not let me buy the one that also went over the nose.
Fast forward to today, the green bandanna came from the bottom of the backpack, and was installed over her nose at first break.


Grandma's rule!

26 comments:

  1. Hello Joanne,

    But will the balaclava ever be worn.......now, that is the question.

    We often wonder if we simply never felt the cold when young.

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  2. They delayed school opening 2 hours down here because the temperatures were in the 20's. That's the equivalent of 0 to the rest of the country.

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  3. Working on the slopes it will be worn...and I don't even know what a balaclava is.

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  4. I would wear it!! The young seem to be more worried about fashion than comfort.

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  5. The way things are she'd run a risk of being arrested as a suspected terrorist, wearing a balaclava...

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    1. I thought about that. Grandmother wisdom prevailed. However, it may remain stowed at the bottom of the pack. We'll see.

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  6. If she gets cold enough she'll wear it.

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  7. What a pretty winter scene.

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  8. Makes me shiver just to look at your photos... wait... what am I saying? I'm shivering down here in Texas where it's 39 degrees.

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  9. Not exactly a fashion stunner, the balaclava. I doubt she'll wear it. how can she flirt with the cute boys if she does?

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  10. Such a beautiful sunrise! Hoping Emily will be warm on the slopes today!!!

    betty

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  11. To tell the truth I did not know what a balaclava was -- I had to look it up online. I can understand a teen not wanting to wear one and especially as "fly in the web" states above it is now associated with terrorists. Not that she would be stopped -- but that other teens would laugh about it. Maybe not though? -- barbara

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  12. If she gets cold enough and if the cool kids feel the cold she will wear it.

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  13. We had three snow days in a row. The town north of us had the whole week off. Three weeks of Christmas break. Yay.

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  14. Hari Om
    So, what others appear to have missed is that the balaclava is indeed being worn... as a kind of underwear for the head! Brilliant idea. For me it is beanie then shawl double wrapped... totally ski-worthy!!! YAM xx

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    1. That's a bonus picture, Yam, the way she looked at shift's end.

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  15. Truthfully, it seems counter productive to me to cancel school. Liv and her friends usually just go sledding all day!

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  16. The green bandanna looks pretty good and certainly is better than losing a nose to frost bite.
    I agree with "what were the parents thinking" -- summer shorts in that weather? Crazy. What if the heating had failed in the hall?
    I love that sunrise photo.

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  17. Joanne, the gramma, definitely rules.

    Before the end of the winter, or even this week, she will wear it. These past few days have been brutal.

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  18. I remember when my boys protested about wearing ski masks, but they eventually wore them for skiing, or sledding on extremely cold days. Hopefully, it will warm up a little bit soon, so the balaclava won't be an issue. You are wise to have one handy, as well as the sunscreen.

    Julie

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  19. I see kids walking to school clearly not dressed properly and I do wonder about the parents.

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  20. Oh, this is too good. When kids were waiting for the bus, they were all freezing, because neither wanted to break ranks and wear a coat, etc. Shorts, flip flops, hoddies turned backwards to look even cooler. Granted, it was only 40 deg. but they were shivering. My kids at least caved to wear jeans, jackets, and cool balaclavas.

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