As long as I don't have to be out driving in it, I love snow. Now, my husband is just the opposite. He wants to be out behind the wheel, slipping and sliding around on the roads. It's like a grown-up version of a little boy and a Tonka truck playing in the snow. I've been calling him little Timmy all day.
I, on the other hand, nest into the house, bundled up in pjs and fuzzy socks, with a big pot of soup simmering on the stove. I enjoy sitting safely by the fire watching the cotton candy flakes sprinkle onto the ground. I love how snow frosts the tips of branches on the trees and adds icing to anything standing still. And how soft marshmallow clouds form in piles in the backyard. And, when the sun hits a patch of freshly fallen snow, it glistens, as if fairies have sprinkled it with glitter. Snow is just magical!
Today has been blissfully lazy and with the frosty fluff still drifting down, there's no doubt school will be cancelled tomorrow. While I'll have the luxury of working from home, Noah gets the best deal as there's not much better than a SNOW DAY! He'll get to sleep in, watch tons of tv, play games, and I'm sure he'll venture out to play in the powdery gift from above.
I remember how fun snow days were when I was Noah's age. (Heck, at any age their fun!) Growing up, it seemed that everytime it snowed, it was enough to build a snowman, make snow cream, and go sledding. I enjoyed decorating snowmen but wasn't so much a fan of the work required to build one. I LOVED snow cream and think the person whoever figures out how to recreate that taste and sell it at Wal-Mart will be a billionaire. My favorite thing to do in the snow though was sled. We had all sorts of sleds growing up from the wooden type with metal rails (those things were dangerous) to the plastic varieties, both long and round. The most amazing sled?....an old car hood. I still don't know how we survived those treacherous slides down the pit mine hills, piles of kids on top of each other, as we sped so fast Clark Griswold would be jealous.
My most memorable snow was the year we built an igloo at my Grandma and Grandpa McGuffin's house. I don't know if we were already off on break or it just worked out, but all the cousins were there, as well as my two uncles. (I actually think this was the same year as the infamous car hood sled.) Anyway, as soon as the sun was out, Grandma wrapped us in so many layers we could barely walk and we bounded outside. Waddling through the snow, that in drifts was waist high to us, someone came up with the idea to build an igloo.
Now in my mind, it was an actual Eskimo igloo with perfectly formed square bricks of snow. Who knows what it actually looked like but I do remember our uncles helping us build it. That makes me think it was as big and amazing as I recall. We spent what seemed like hours forming the frozen hut, only going inside when we could hold our pee or feel our toes no longer. The only good part about going back in was stripping down to my Dukes of Hazard underoos to sip on hot chocolate and eat the chili Grandma would have ready.
We built the igloo in front of the big window in the living room. This way, even when inside you felt like you could enjoy the frosty creation. Even after the snow melted and our winter wonderland began to fade, the igloo remained. It lasted weeks after the snow was long gone...and as you can see, the memory has lasted forever!
Posts
We just dug out from several inches and have endured bone-chilling temps most of January. But the last weekend of the month smiled down on us with expected sunshine. 60 degrees this time of year is to be celebrated!
