I remember when....

Today it snowed a ton until about 11. I waited at the crosswalk for awhile this morning before the kids came to cross. The flakes were so big and pretty. It was kind of cold but the snowfall was one of those that could almost put you in a trance. I love how quiet it is outside when it snows. I love it when all you can hear is the snow falling gently on the ground. At the crosswalk it is not that quiet. I have lived in many states with real snowy winters. Colorado had snowy winters. We were in Kansas for a blizzard that gave us a snow week and enormous snow drifts that were perfect for tunneling. I remember being outdoors all day for days digging and digging and sledding down the hill at our house. Then we would visit all the kids in the neighborhood to see what kind of caves they had built. You know how to keep your feet dry in snowboots? Put a large ziplock or plastic grocery bag over your socked foot and put it in your boot and you can play for hours. My step brother tried to convince me to test the ice on the pond. He was trying to show me it was solid only to have the ice give way and he was up to his knees in water. That was the funniest thing I had ever seen when I was 11. Then when we did get to go to school I tried to see how deep the snow was in the ditch and about paniced to get out because it looked level with the snow but it was super deep. We moved to Alaska. Our first winter there I was 12 and in the 6th grade. It was the best winter ever. We could ice skate and sled at recess. All the elementary schools and high schools had ice rinks. We would bring our sleds and skates on the bus. You needed snow pants and snow boots all winter long but it was the best. There was a hill at the elementary school and most of the school at recess was on that hill. There was one icy path that you could slide down without a sled. Snowpants were great on it. And then there was the lower part of the hill and the kids would build little jumps. That was where we would sled. I would take my saucer sled, jump on my knees and go upright down the hill. I would take that jump and My knees and shins were always black and blue. Then the ice skating where I would go so fast and run into the walls. My mom bought me knee pads because of how bruised my knees would get from crashing the walls. Then we moved across the street from an elementary school and I spent every night there ice skating. I was 13 and my mom and stepdad were hardly ever home so I would bundle my brother up-he was 2- in all his snowgear and then he would have to go potty. I had to undress him and redress him again. It took FOREVER to get him out the door. I would bring his ice skates, put them on him and skate. It was always dark by the time I got home at 3 or 4 but when there is that much snow in a city there is such a glow. Matt never lasted as long as I wanted to skate though. The snow would be on the ground all winter long and it seemed it was never hard to find a hill to sled on. So winter in Alaska as a kid can be a blast.

Here in Idaho, on this side of Idaho, we have hardly ever had that kind of snow. Usually if it snows in the morning you better get out and play because it will be gone by noon. But last winter was different and this one is too. As an adult my perspective is so different. I never had to drive in it much so it scares me to drive if it's bad. I can't stand the mountain of wet stuff the kids track in. It is worse than the towels and swimsuits in the summer because there is more of it. Where do you put it when the snow doesn't stick around? The front doorway is always dirty and usually wet, so watch where you step in socks. But today, at the school, I was reminded of those pleasures of youth, where you can play for hours and really don't feel cold even if you are. I am such a mom telling all the silly kids to put their coats on. I can really like the snow in winter. I showed about a dozen 2nd graders how to roll enormous snowballs today. I properly wore them out, and myself, in the process. It was the funniest thing to see all the enormous snowballs all the kids were building and trying to push and all the snowmen that were built today. It was sad to see it rain this afternoon and turn everything into a nasty slushy mess. It rained lightly during lunch recess and I was wet through my coat but the kids were having such a blast we didn't send them in. It was the best kind of snow. Snow is fun-I guess I am too picky and want it on my terms, but it was fun. I asked the other gal I work with if she wanted to go outside and build a snowman with me before all the kids went to lunch. It would have been funny if we did, but we didn't. We had already been outside plenty by then. When your old, compacted snow is hard on the back and the legs. Our backs sure have hurt the past two days. I have some great hair. My bangs were curled under this morning. Now they curl out all stringy looking. I remember the days I could care less about that too. But that is a topic for another day.