Then today it happened! It rained, so they closed Pete's school!!
To be fair, there were some "extreme thunderstorm" warnings the evening before; my phone beeped scarily, and then started talking to me to let me know how serious things were. Just east of the city there were reports of hailstones the size of baseballs, and flash floods closing roads. I went to sleep as lightning flashed.
When I awoke, the school district had texted at 4am to say all schools were shut. I opened the blinds expecting to witness the apocalypse, only to find conditions I would generously describe as slightly damp. There wasn't drizzle, or even mizzle, or any of the other 99 words the British have for precipitation.
At first I was excited. Finally a chance to home-school Pete! They teach strange things around here, like "evolution" and the so-called "American War of Independence" and I looked forward to a day of Bible study and lineages of British monarchs. But, on reflection, it seemed easier to take him and his friend Levi to watch Detective Pikachu at the cinema then have Whataburger for lunch. After that, I'm not proud to say I put another movie on for Pete and went for a nap. I did skip my lunchtime cocktail though. Responsible parenting.
Mid-afternoon the sun came out, with not another drop of rain all school-deficient day. The thunderstorm had cleared the air and it was one of the most pleasant days we've had for a while. I thought of all the teachers enjoying a glass of wine on this unexpected long weekend...and then realised what this was really all about. After spending the day with my six-year-old, I can agree they deserve it.
Waiting for Detective Pikachu, which was not as bad as it could have been.
Healthy Dad-lunch.
