When Thomas Paine wrote, "These are the time times that try men's souls" he was talking about the beginning of the American Revolution. However, Mr. Paine could have just as easily been describing what the upcoming week has in store for parents living in the North on the wrong side of a Great Lake. Our weekly weather forecast includes snow and cold EVERY SINGLE DAY.

If you are fortunate enough to live in a flurry-free climate, let me share what parents (who likely got that job title as a side-effect of trying to keep warm in the first place) have to look forward to during a weather pattern such as this:

Sunday: Yay, snow! Everyone happily pulls out the winter gear and heads outside to frolic amongst the snowflakes.

Monday: Hooray! More snow, along with icy roads! SNOW DAY! One child manages to lose a mitten, another has a black eye from an errant snowball. Much crying.

Tuesday: More snow, school closed again. Kids refuse to go outside because their boots are wet and they preferring to run around the house and swing from the curtains anyway. For fun, they repeatedly scream each others' names. All. Day. Long.

Wednesday: Still no school, even though you got up at 3 a.m. and personally shoveled and salted your entire street to give the school bus safe passage. Even though they haven't left the house for over 82 hours, one child has lost their winter coat, two different boots have vanished, a scarf and hat are missing and five mittens are AWOL. Their theme for the day seems to be "Break Stuff" and also "Cry."

Thursday: Parental prayers have been answered! In spite of the raging blizzard, school is a go! However, while shoveling the driveway for the third time that morning, you hear a mighty cheer from the school yard down the street. The storm is getting worse and the kids are being sent home before lunch! You silently trudge back inside and add a triple shot of amaretto to your hot chocolate.

Friday: Because you weren't foolish enough to even dare dream there would be school, you're not completely shattered at the thought of being trapped in the Arctic version of hell home with your darlings yet another day. As a bonus this snow is finally wet enough for snowman-making. You send your kids out in layers of socks, flip-flops and flannel pajamas because every last piece of their winter gear has apparently been teleported to another dimension. Building snowmen and destroying the ones their siblings made and then getting into wrestling matches over the carnage takes up most of their day.

Saturday: You fashion a harness for the family cat and dog and attach it to a sled and make a break for it, Iditarod style.