January 17 - An Arctic Trek

I mentioned yesterday that we were in the midst of a pretty good sized snow storm, at least for this area.  As I write this, around 8 inches of snow (which is a lot more than the "dusting" that we had initially been warned about) covers the ground outside.  It's a sight that we're not used to seeing all that much around here.  In fact, it's a sight more at home where I grew up.

Winters in Maine were magical (at least when I was a little kid...when I was old enough to shovel snow, the magic evaporated).  I remember endless games of King of the Mountain, which were played on the piles of snow that the plows made after clearing the roads and often contained more ice and asphalt than powder.  I remember hurtling down steep hills on cheap plastic sleds that felt like they were going to fly apart at every bump you careened off of.  I remember massive snowball fights, and cave-ins in the tunnels that we dug in the backyard.

I apparently was made out of rubber when I was little, because I should have shattered every bone in my body during these adventures.

I love living in North Carolina for many reasons, and the weather is definitely high on the list.  But I do think from time to time about how Elliot and Eleanor will miss out on something by not experiencing the childhood I had in the snow.  So, when the out-of-the-norm snow storm happens here, I want to get the most of it for them.

Yesterday afternoon, Elizabeth and I took the kiddos on a trek through our neighborhood.

That was the sled my parents carted me around when I around Elliot's age!

My intrepid companion lugging our dead weight kiddos...

Eleanor reminded us of Randy from A Christmas Story.

Elliot underestimated how much snow we got...

My little snow bunny's first big storm.

We met up some of our neighbors who have kids Elliot and Eleanor's ages.  Elliot and his buddy Oli got to enjoy some sled time...

...and spent some time clearing off fire hydrants...

...and had some much needed pizza afterwards...

People down here don't really know how to handle the snow.  I guarantee you that I were to walk into any grocery store in the area, the bread, milk, and egg shelves would be barren.  There were over 120 reported snow-related accidents in the city of Greensboro alone yesterday.  Driving in the snow here is akin to a Mad Max-esque wasteland...

But with all that said, I love the snow down here in North Carolina because it's gone before you start to lose your appreciation for it.  The flip side to the magical memories I have of winters in Maine are when it's May and it's still snowing.  Or when the piles of snow turn brown from all of the salt and sand that the trucks pour on the roads to make them passable.  Or the feeling you get after weeks of seeing a sea of monotonous white.  One begins to understand why Jack Nicholson loses his mind in The Shining, and that's even without the haunted hotel.

What I'll get to remember about this snowfall are the moments I got to spend with my family and friends.  The moments I spent watching Elliot grin from ear to ear as he fell over in the snow, or the excitement in his eyes as he looked out the window and saw the winter landscape that awaited him. The moments I spent holding Eleanor as she was all bundled up, and her own excitement and awe as she saw a world of white outside.  The moments where I glanced over at Elizabeth and thought how beautiful she looked in the snow.

Snow can be an inconvenience and a hassle.  But it can also be wondrous and can bring with it a sense of joy.  It's a kind of joy that Elliot and Eleanor might not get exposed to every year.  But when the opportunities arises, Elizabeth and I will be there to pull their sled.