Glory (Snow) Days

When we woke up this morning, it felt like a blah winter day. A brown-grey palette covered everything, ground to sky.

We got moving, slowly. I went out to run errands when it unexpectedly started snowing.

One minute, I’m buying buy pens, then I’m staring at a real snowstorm. Big white flakes blew everywhere. Honestly, I was elated. Nuts, right? Nope, just eager for some winter weather. It’s been mild this season, that’s fine when I need to run errands. But, not good when the family wants a snow day.

A couple weeks ago, I let my kid pick out a shovel. It was odd for a 50-degree day, a few people even laughed. I knew they were probably right and we wouldn’t get much use this season, but I let her have it anyway. Why? Because it’s still winter! There’s still a greater chance of snow than sunny and 70. Plus, it’s time to retire the dustpan and get her a shovel her own size. (Yes, my kid pushed around a dustpan. It was small enough she couldn't get hurt lifting a ton of snow, and she loved it.)

So glad I did. Today, when I asked if anyone wanted to go outside and shovel, I heard a shriek, “Yes!” Her response was so enthusiastic I had to laugh. It won’t last, I thought, someday when she’s a teenager she’ll probably ignore our requests or be too busy to make snow angels.

We geared up – it only took us 20 minutes – and went outside.

Let me say, having kids makes a lot of things more exciting. Like, shoveling snow. So, we played and shoveled, shoveled and played. We dug ourselves paths, threw snowballs and built a mini snowman. No facial features, but still recognizable.

When finished, we trudged in, tired from all the activity. We peeled off our damp gear and made hot chocolate. Flushed cheeks, warm mugs and marshmallows. It was the perfect end to our snowy play day.