Day 323

My son will always remember this move — the first night in his new home. Yesterday, after racing against the weather we settled in for the blizzard. Overnight, we got more than a foot of snow and when we woke up it was still snowing. I canceled school, giving my son a snow day and we utilized some of the time this morning to start unpacking. The place is a mess — boxes and bins everywhere. However, since we have no intention of staying here long (yeah, I know, we weren’t supposed to stay in the condo long either) we are not planning on unpacking everything. The first order of business is to decide what we need and what can remain boxed up.

We don’t have a stove or an oven which really sucks in the middle of snow storm. It’s not like we can go out to buy food, or even order take out. The new stove was supposed to be installed today, but due to the snow, it wasn’t. Our landlord brought over a hot plate, but there is only so much you can cook on one, especially when everyone in the family likes different food, and it’s not unusual that we have all four burners going at once. Since we knew this was going to happen, once we heard the weather forecast, we bought appetizer food — mini-hotdogs, pizza bagels, spanakopita, and taquitos — that we could easily cook in the toaster oven. Yesterday, we put it all in the freezer. This morning, we realized the new freezer isn’t working. Things were cold — but not frozen. And so we had to throw away all the food. We are angry. Not only did we throw away all that money, but we now have nothing to eat, except ramen. My spouse spent much of the afternoon on the phone with the landlord’s daughter (the landlord speaks little English) but with the snow, there is nothing they can do. The woman called to find out when the stove installation can be rescheduled and she was told not until February 9. That’s more than a week without being able to cook, which is completely unacceptable. We can’t live with nothing more than a hot plate between now and then. As for the refrigerator, the woman suggested we put our food out in the snow. Well that might keep frozen food frozen, but food that is to be refrigerated (because the refrigerator isn’t keep things cold enough either) will freeze. You can’t drink frozen milk. By the time this is done, we will be sick of ramen.

This afternoon my son and I went out in the snow. By the time we got outside, the snow had switched over to freezing rain and the wind was harsh. The only thing I really liked about our condo was the hill in the back. My son spent many wonderful storms sledding there. But here, there is no hill within walking distance. However, 7 Eleven is only a half a mile away. When we first looked at the place, my son said the one advantage to living here was that he’d be able to ride his bike to 7 Eleven on his own to buy a slurpee. Today, he decided it was close enough to walk as well, so he suggested that we walk together. Always up for a walk, I agreed. I thought, considering the wind, snow, and freezing rain he might want a hot chocolate or something else, something not cold. I was wrong. He walked in and headed straight for the slurpee machine. I chuckled but happily bought it for him. And he enjoyed every drop of it. But when we got home he said, “I don’t think I can play anymore. I’m too cold. I need a hot shower.”

My son asked if we are going to have a snow day tomorrow as well. I told him no. There’s no reason not to do some work. I did promise that if he worked diligently and didn’t spend the morning complaining or rushing through things (which is when he makes mistakes) we could be outside playing shortly after lunch. He grumbled, but I know him. If I gave him the day off, he’d spend some time in the snow but more time watching movies. I can’t, in good faith, give him time off to stare at a screen. Yes, in his words, I’m mean.