Just Say "Snow" to Missing School and Work

I've been a little bit depressed since the New Year, and when I sat down and reviewed the calendar for 2010 I figured out why. We flew from Seattle to Pittsburgh on January 6th, and thus the kids went back to school on January 7th. There have been 37 work days since January 7th, and on 12 of those days one or both of the children have been home from school. The reasons have varied, from sick days to MLK day to in-service days to snow cancellations. Today is the 8th snow day of 2010!

Miraculously, only one of these missed school days fell on one of my teaching days, and Josh covered for me. And some of these days have been fun. The kids and I have done a lot of cooking, and some fun crafts (see blog below). Some days have allowed me to lounge in my bathrobe a bit longer that I usually do. I have made up a lot of the meetings and much of the work I have missed on the other days, but, still, what makes me feel so despondent is that I have lost control over my schedule, and, in a way, over my sense of self.

When Jacob started at the Pittsburgh Public Schools this year I had this idea I would start a co-op of like-minded working parents who would band together to take turns on the snow days and in-service days. But then it seemed like too much trouble. And now I'm kicking myself.

What's a working mom to do?