a day in the snow

When you live in the south, a decent amount of snow actually sticking only happens once in a Blue Moon. For when it does stick, it usually only lasts a day or so before Mother Nature decides it is time for it to melt. However, there are times you know a big snow storm brewing. It is in those times that you know the snow will stay maybe a week or so. The day finally comes when you look outside to a beautiful white blanket. And there it is, one of the most precious things you will ever see. You see the pure joy and excitement in a child's eyes.

We had such a snow this past winter. Not a footprint in a yard nor tire track on the road to be seen. My daughter started asking, as much as you would expect of a young one to ask especially when she has never really seen a good five to eight inches, if we could go out in it. Prepared in our warmest clothes, my wife, daughter and I went out to play in the freshly fallen snow. It ,which to my daughter's surprise, really started to snow. My daughter running around in circles as much as she could.

My wife then informed me that our daughter had never been sledding. Knowing that we didn't have a sled to use, my wife and I decided to look around our house to find the closest thing to a sled that we could. Many things might have worked but few did. The two top choices ended up being a plastic tub that only she would fit in and a unicorn pool. Now was the moment of truth of which would be best. We decided to try the tub first. Our daughter anxiously climbed into the tub and waited. My wife and I took turns pushing her down the smallest hill on our land. This soon turned into both of us tiring out while our daughter kept asking to go over and over again.

My wife and I looked at each other after who knows how many turns. Nodded. Now it was time for the unicorn to shine. We drug this silly little unicorn pool over to the top of the biggest hill we have, sat our daughter in it and waited. "Okay Daddy. . . " is all she had time to say. We will never forget the next sound we then heard. The moment we got our daughter sliding down that hill, the blissful giggles and cutest laughs this little girl had ever sounded could be heard echoing in the distance fields. With joy in our hearts, my wife and I took turns jumping on the pool to give it the start it needed. But even sweet things like that are not to last. The pool did eventually pop.

Our daughter then learned how to make snow angels and have snow ball fights. She would run around with golf ball sized snow balls and attempt to throw them. Throw, run, hide, giggle, repeat. But as all kids do, she would occasionally slip and face plant the snow, get up and go again. When it came to her snow angels, she said they were to protect us from the evil snowmen that come out at night.

Of course pictures and videos were taken, but seeing our daughter running and laughing in the snow was amazing. After about thirty minutes to an hour of being out in the snow, we decided to go in for hot chocolate (or coffee in my wife's choice) and winter movies. Even though the time spent was short, we had created a wonderful memory and a cute story. By the end of the day, my wife and I were so exhausted that we felt like the whole family should hibernate. The look on our daughter's tired face said it too and one other thing. That it was well worth every second.