The First Snow of the Year

The first real snow of the year has arrived. If you've known me for any amount of time, you know that the first snow is not a cause for celebration to me.

I whined and cried yesterday when the snow began. I whined and cried a little more this morning before I went outside to do chores.

The children, much to their credit, have a much better attitude. Some of the children embrace the snow more than others.

 

The animals are tolerant of the weather.  They seem to patiently take the weather as it comes. Maybe I need to take a lesson from them.

Truth be told, I really do not mind the snow. In fact, I kind of enjoy going out with the kids to play in the snow. The cold doesn't even bother me. It is all the hassle that goes along with the cold and the snow that makes me want to curl up in a ball until April. It is the thawing of water buckets. The coming of baby animals during a freeze. The worry of frozen pipes. The search for boots, hats, and gloves for four children, and the even bigger dilemma of where to put all those snow covered things in a space entirely too small for all our gear and our laundry. And ever since I almost took the kids over the hill in the van, it is the driving. Any snow on the roads while I'm driving makes my heart race.

So the snow has finally come, and try as I might, I can't embrace it. The negatives simply outweigh the positives. Instead I am bracing myself, adopting a stoic attitude toward the season, and patiently waiting for the next thaw.