The glory of a good PB & J sandwich

Yesterday the kids had another snow day--the 7th one. That's the 7th time I've had the fun of hearing Austin say "Yyyyeeeesssssss! WoooHoooo!" to that news. It brings an easy smile when you see someone reacting with such joy. He loves the idea of getting to stay home and do whatever he wants to do. Let's be honest ... who doesn't enjoy an unexpected opportunity to just chill out at home, relax, read, sleep, play or whatever else might float your boat!? It's fun for all of us.

The kids really made the most of the day--playing matchbox cars together, reading, playing some GameCube, watching some TV, coloring and playing boyfriend / girlfriend--which I found out means that you love each other and want to spend all your time together, unless one of the people needs to go to the bathroom, then they can have privacy. :)

For Austin and me, the best part of the day was lunch. Around 12:30 Austin told me that he and Maya were hungry and wanted to know if they could eat. I was buzzing around the house with laundry and other little chores, so I told them they could start making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I'd be in to help in just a few minutes. I figured they'd have enough time to get out the bread, peanut butter, jelly, plates and knives ... maybe start spreading one of the pieces of bread, but not much more than that. Well, apparently I've underestimated how quickly they can assemble a sandwich when they're really hungry. When I walked into the kitchen, Maya was nearly half way through eating hers and Austin was sitting at the bar with his very tall sandwich on a paper plate in front of him. He had prepared his "favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwich" in a way that let me know immediately that he was all in for treating himself to quite a special lunch. (It is worth noting that the "favorite PB & J" includes both creamy and crunchy Jif along with strawberry and blackberry jellies. It's quite a masterpiece!)

So, I mentioned that he was sitting with his very tall sandwich in front of him. I would estimate that it was a good 3" high ... LOTS of peanut butter and even more jelly--he had been quite generous and kind to himself! He waited to eat this magnum opus until I could eat with him--so that we could enjoy our special, snow day lunch together. He offered to make a sandwich for me too, but I graciously declined ... after all, he had been very patient waiting for me knowing that the ultimate PB & J creation was ready for him to eat. As he picked up this colossal sandwich, a goodly portion of the jelly immediately oozed out of it, dropping onto his plate. He was amused. I quickly grabbed a slice of my bread and held it under his so that I could use part of his jelly. (I suppose that's a mommy thing to do ... let's not waste it, right??!) He was happy to share with me and seemed genuinely perplexed at my suggestion that he be sure to lean over his plate while he ate the rest of the sandwich. He ate every last bite and even licked the extra jelly off of his plate.

He enjoyed his sandwich immensely. Indeed, part of what made the sandwich so satisfying was the blending of the two peanut butters with the two kinds of jelly. But I think more than that, it was that he was proud that he made it himself, really doing it up, just like he would want it to be ... it was the PB & J of his dreams that had just become a reality.

Without even tasting it, I can tell you that it really was the best sandwich ever ... and what better day to have it than on our 7th snow day! Life is good!!