Snow Day

I am a winter person. I love the cold, the icy air that smells so pure, the silence of a cold night and especially snow. Living in TX we didn't see any these past few years so you can imagine our household the other day when we awoke to a NC winter wonderland. Abby came bounding into the bedroom at 6am yelling "It's a miracle!!", trailed by Alex who has never seen snow, never heard of snow, but was determined to be a part of whatever had his beloved sissy in such a state. We all crowded around the windows, ooohing and aahhing over the magical sight of a humdrum backyard transformed by a blanket of snow. That was about where the magic ended. Abby bounced off to suit up for her trek outside while I frantically attempted to help Elisabeth and Alex get dressed before Abby left them behind. I didn't succeed. Which meant that Abby made it out the backdoor (leaving it open) while I was still trying to help Beth find her shoes and socks while she whined every breath about a sore foot, a sore throat, her shoes were too big, the same shoes were too small, it was cold, she was hungry and she didn't like her mittens. This child doesn't often cause any disharmony, but when she does...watch out. Finally after getting her all set, I turned my attentions to Alex.....wait a minute....where is Alex? And there he was, outside in snow up to his knees without coat, hat or even socks, Abby leading him around the backyard. I quickly grabbed his outerwear and headed out, but it was too late. The minute I was spotted, he launched into full blown tears, holding up frozen little hands and wailing "cold, mama!". His 10 minute journey was over and he wanted to go back inside to get warm. This we did, followed for some reason by a 15 minute tantrum because he didn't get to swing. I guess at 2 swinging and cold are mutually exclusive? Later on when the fire was lit and the kids were all warm and glowing from 2 cups of cocoa, my husband came home regretful of missing Alex's first trek into the snow and eager to hear all about it. Unfortunately I had to tell him that I missed it too.