Sitting here next to a borrowed space heater in our cold bedroom, I am happy to report that Huck has nearly completed an entire week of school without a single snow day or holiday, which hasn’t happened since the week of December 16th. Since returning to normal, I’ve been going to lots of preschools with Trike Theatre, more than usual to make up for the many canceled December dates, and we always ask the children to pair up for certain discussions.  When asked to talk about things we can collect (like rocks & seashells), the other day I overheard a sweet little girl explain to her partner, “NOT cut up children!” with a crazed look on her face. I resisted running out of the classroom screaming hysterically.  Yesterday morning I had another little girl with a gigantic BandAid covering her entire chin sitting so close to me she was nearly on my lap, which I wouldn’t have minded until she farted loudly and shouted “EXCUSE ME” into my bad ear.

Such is my normal.

The other day Huck came home from school with sketchy details about playing Babe the Ox in the school musical about fables. When I requested a sneak peek at his solo, he squinted his eyes mysteriously and lowered his voice a few octaves to tell me he didn’t remember it.  This from the boy who every single day applies several more layers of glittery gold fingernail polish in hopes of making it impossible to come off, all the while adding more and more home-made rubber band bracelets and necklaces around his arms and neck.  This from the boy who puts on his Origami Master Halloween costume to dispose of the Christmas tree, the boy who non-stop practices “The Cup Song” with any object he can find, and if he can’t find an object he just used his legs and hands.  I should be the one squinting my eyes and lowering my voice.

In other normal news, the all-school spelling bee that Huck insisted was happening on February tenth actually happened last Friday following a snow day which followed a return-to-school day which followed two snow days which followed two weeks of Christmas break. Though unprepared, he still spelled almost everything just right (including my all-time favorite words bebop and shiatsu) and ended up in third place.  As he was finally dismissed from the nerve-wracking, exciting competition, he made his way to me out in the audience and climbed his lanky body onto my less lanky one saying, “Both of them are going to get a trophy no matter what!” and promised himself not to make the same mistake next year.  The older Huck gets the more I depend on him to show me how to work the iPod and the camera and to know the correct dates for when things are happening at school.  This misinformation really threw me for a loop.  Thank goodness ol’ Pappy T wisely reminded me that sometimes messing up is good for a little boy who usually gets everything right.

(And maybe his mom.  I don’t know.)

And lastly, on the day the weather finally began to shape up, our beloved Shana arrived from New York for her six week stint directing at the university.  Unfortunately her visit has perfectly coincided with the anticipated release of Kidz Bop 25.  The look on Shana’s face when I broke the news that I promised Huck he could listen to his awful new music during our dinner the other night may have been worth all the gold in China.  Or at least all these normal days & nights with an eight year old.