Staying home from school in 1st grade with my mom to watch Disney movies in the living room while it poured outside is a memory I will never forget. Even though it was such a small thing, it was such a great feeling to sit inside a warm cozy house with my mom with only the fireplace and the TV providing light while outside it was dark, cold and raining. We used to fall asleep for hours on the couch then wake up, realize we missed half of The Lion King and start it all over again. While the song “Go the Distance” from Hercules was playing, my mom would tickle me until I couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t care. As a little kid, my mom’s chicken soup was a greatest cure for any ailment. She claimed she had made it from scratch but I now know that just thinking my mom had made it gave that Campbell’s Noodle Soup the greatest thing I had ever tasted.

During snow days when I was in 1st and 2nd grade I remember the amazing feeling of waking up and seeing snow falling continuously outside my window and instantly knowing that I didn’t have to get out of bed. A feeling of relief would rush over me because I knew I wouldn’t have to deal with sitting in a class all day. After falling back asleep, I would usually be woken up by the smell of pancakes and bacon. The dark weather outside gave the appearance of nighttime inside my house and the lights that were lit gave my home a cozy feeling. As soon as I turned the corner to go into my kitchen, my mom would say good morning and that she was making breakfast. I was always surprised that I never got up past 10 because it felt like I slept until 1 in the afternoon. My sister, on the other hand, would sleep until 2 in the afternoon some how. My dog Zack walked over with his tail wagging and rubbed up against me leaving fur all over my legs. Zack shed a lot; more than any dog ever should be able to shed. Our house still has his hair all over it even though he has been gone for two years.

The pancakes my mom makes aren’t regular pancakes. These are pancakes that are almost 8 inches in diameter and that are stuffed full of blueberries or chocolate chips. I still can’t eat more than two to this day. As a 7 year old, these pancakes seemed like the size of a pizza to me, and I didn’t just get one. I got a stack of four. As I began eating, I felt as though I could eat all four, but by the end of the first one, my stomach was calling it quits. My mom would eat two of the three that I wouldn’t eat and threw the last one out. Because my sister still wouldn’t be up for a few more hours, my mom and I would sit on the couch wrapped in blankets and watch movies, most of which were Disney.

When Kaley, my little sister, started waking up earlier these snow days and sick days changed. They changed in the fact that now it wasn’t just my mom and me now. I didn’t mind Kaley being up but it was always nice to get time to be with just my mom. Sure my mom still made pancakes and we still watched movies but it wasn’t the same. It created a new feeling of all of us being together which replaced the old feeling that I had.
Staying home with my mom is something that I rarely do anymore and even when I do it isn’t the same as it used to be. When I was younger I got all that I needed and more without asking for it and it felt good to have that. Now, as an older and more mature person, I still can get that treatment but choose not to because of the feeling of independence. I like how I was treated as a little kid but now I have more responsibilities and it just doesn’t feel the same. These responsibilities were materialized around 7th grade when I would stay home with Kaley during snow days. Just like how my mom would care for me when I was home with her, I took care of Kaley, except I didn’t make her pancakes or lay on the couch with her to watch Disney movies.
Instead of having the memories that I do, Kaley has memories of me taking care of her and cooking her breakfast, and that I think matured me pretty fast. The fact that my mom trusted me to make sure she was ok enough also gave me a responsibility that I took as a kind of challenge. Now that she is old enough to look after herself, I don’t watch her anymore when there is a snow day; I sleep as late as I want and don’t worry about feeding her. I think that maybe my mom feels the same way and that she didn’t feel that watching me was a chore but more of a challenge and her job. She passed this responsibility onto me and I am glad she did because it made me into someone who can do whatever they want on their own.