Thursday, October 27, 2011

So Many Flakes Out There

I've never understood those people who get out in the snow. They buy snowboards and sleds and go outside  to play around in the cold wet blanket of misery. They roll around in it, cruise through it, pick it up and throw it at one another. They build things with it, like igloos and snowmen and icy fortresses. They spend their day calling their friends and making plans to go snow-sliding together. They can be seen in huddled masses at the park, slinging each other across the down-slopes.Then they return to their houses with their noses half-frozen and their clothes all wet. They are home just long enough to warm their coats in the clothes dryer and change their socks, and then they are gone again.

What's really befuddling is that they seem so happy about it. The Freaks.

I'm the one cuddled up in a blanket with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate. I like the way the snow looks as it's falling against my window. I enjoy the peaceful quiet of the neighborhood before the children wake up and discover what Mother Nature has bestowed upon us. I like that my car is parked safely in the garage and I have no need for the ice scraper in the trunk.

But you know what? My grandson, Lyric is coming over today to spend the day with me. He is nineteen months old, and he has never built a snowman.

I just might have to be the one to show him how.

9 comments:

  1. There is something to be said for holing up with something warm and a book. Although I did chuckle at the irony of you perhaps having to teach your grandchild the ways and wiles of snowmen.

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  2. The UK grinds to a total halt when there is over 1mm of snow. People stop going to work, cars skid around crashing into each other. I do love the idea of being tucked up in the warm though.

    Your grandson will love the snow, kids always do.

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  3. I used to ski a lot until the Winter Olympics came to my state. That's when lift tickets became so expensive that only the rich and the foolish would buy them.

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  4. "and throw it at one another"

    This tickles me.

    Ah, snow. As a life-long Minnesotan I can only tell you that you either embrace it or take to some serious, seasonal drinking. That said, of course, I grew up poor, so our idea of winter fun was sledding. Which is still kinda fun. Especially if you've been drinking. :-) (Just kidding. Mostly.)

    Pearl

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  5. i like pictures of snow and that is about as far as it goes....you know i never saw snow til i was 21 and in the great state of colorado....i woke up one morning and looked out the window to see denver covered in this weird white stuff...i ran out and fucked around with it for about 10 mins to the amusement of locals then realised my converse were not snowproof...i didnt like it anymore especialy after i locked myself out of the place i was staying in...snow sux big ones :)

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  6. Robbie-he didn't want to build a snowman, but he rocks at snowball wars.

    Dicky- when I lived further south, same thing, buncha morons slip-sliding around. It was best to just stay inside.

    Grunt-I don't understand that either, paying so much to get back to the top, only to race back down again...

    Pearl-I suppose, with a little rum, I might feel warm enough to convince me go sledding once, just for kicks.

    Dan- I remember living in Alaska when I was four or five and there was a blinding blizzard. That little town was prepared for it though. We found our way home from the school bus stop by holding onto a rope that was strung along the walkways.

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  7. I have to admit I love me some snow. I miss winter a lot now that I live in Georgia. That being said I do love reading under a blanket with some hot chocolate to hand. In fact I think that's even better after spending some time outside in the snow. Aw man! Now I'm going crazy missing snow.

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  8. i like going for walks during blizzards and playing and building in snow when it's falling or just freshly fallen. but after that, when the temperature outside usually plummets, i'm a stay all cozy inside kinda girl.
    i'm also very picky about the kind of snow that is 'fun', i wish i knew all those 1,000 different words the inuits are supposed to have to describe the different types of snow, then i could be more specific.

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  9. Growing up in New England, my winters were spent skating and sledding. There's usually lots of winter snow here and TOYS are what make it wonderful! When I learned how to ski in my twenties, that was it--diehard winter freak. But I have to admit, I won't ski in freezing rain any longer.
    That's where I draw the line.

    Ah the snow... I wait for it with great anticipation each year, yet I really didn't want the October snow we had last weekend--it emptied our trees of red and gold too soon.

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