Oy. Already today has been one of those classic Mondays, the kind so often featured on television sitcoms and the like. The battery in my alarm clock chose to die overnight, so we overslept by an hour and a half, so I had to pitchfork Paul into the shower at competition speed, throw breakfast at him, and race him to the car (which had been sitting outside all night in a comfortable temperature of 10 below zero), and then drive 35 miles to Dover-Foxcroft at top-possible speed (not very top, considering the state of the roads), all so that he could get to school on time . . . even though there's a 95-percent chance that he will be sent home early because, yes, we're getting another foot of snow today.

Last week Paul's school was in session for a total of one and a half days. What will this week bring?