snow

Snow is one of the best reasons to have children. Without them it it sometimes just cold and wet, but their joy at the wonder of it is infectious.

It isn't that unusual for us to have snow in March here in Maryland, but usually when this happens it is barely below freezing and well above by the next day, so our March snow is mostly slush. Not this time. It started snowing in earnest late last night, but that must have subsided soon because I was disappointed to wake up at 5 AM and find only two inches or so on the ground. But school was canceled, so I kept to my snowstorm plan and stayed home. Around 7 AM it started snowing hard again and it kept up until 9, and by then we had four or five inches in our yard and the streets were so slippery people had trouble driving up the very modest hill out my dining room window. It was about 25 degrees at that point, and the snow was coming down dry and fluffy. After the snow let up I hunted up the boots and snowsuits that hadn't been used all year and took the little kids outside. Ben was fixated on making a snowman. I tried to tell him that this wasn't the right kind of snow, but he insisted on finding out for himself. After that failure, he and Zhen Zhen made snow angels while I shoveled the walk.


I was fixated on sledding, which I hadn't done in two years. After lunch I tried to get Ben and Zhen Zhen suited up again. Ben decided to get nervous and have a fit. Despite my best efforts I couldn't persuade him to come, so I left him home and took Zhen Zhen. We had great fun, although she liked being pulled on the sled more than going downhill. By the time we got home Ben was over his snit and ready to go, so I put Zhen Zhen down for her nap and set out again. I took Ben to the big hill at the high school, and he loved it.

Now I feel like I have done the snow day thing right, and I can relax.