We have been fortunate not to have to deal with the Winter weather that a lot of people in the South have had to deal with over the past couple of weeks. Huntsville is nestled in the Tennessee Valley which seems to temper weather patterns. I’m sure a meteorologist could explain it but all I know is that most extremes in bad weather, jump over us.
But two nights ago, around 7:15 PM, it started snowing. And it stuck. And an hour later, it had covered everything in glorious white. The Buddy Man was thrilled. It was the most snow he can remember seeing. The last snow storm with accumulation of 4+ inches occurred when he was just four months. He (and, OK, I did too) kept going to the window to watch it fall.
As I prepared him for bed, he couldn’t stop talking about waking up and playing in all that snow. I got in bed myself, looking at my weather app, my anxiety escalating at the thought of the Hubby traveling to and from work in this wintry mix. Rain was coming which would inevitably turn to ice. Would he be able to make it home?
And then I had another disquieting thought; we wouldn’t wake up to the glorious winter wonderland that was happening outside our very door. It would be different, if not gone completely.
I called to the Buddy Man and told him to get up and to put on warm clothes and his boots. We were going outside, right then, to play in the snow. Yes, it was past his bedtime, and yes, his excitement would cause him (and consequently me also) to stay up and he (and consequently me also) would be no good for educating at home in the morning, but, I realized, we would never get this chance again.
We went out and built a column of snow, which in his imagination became a snow castle. We pelted each other with snowballs and got each other in the face, and ears, and hair more than a few times. I tried to capture it all in a photograph: his glee, his excitement, the thrill of being outside in the dark, playing in the snow. I tried to capture the moment my heart soared away from my anxiety of earlier that evening as well as the anxiety that has encased me these past 12 months. He shrieked and laughed and I laughed as I haven’t laughed in a very very long time.
Needless to say, no photo or video could capture it. At best, what I have is a reminder of that glorious night. I will hold that in my heart as long as I live and can only hope that my son will always remember the night he and his mommy played in the snow.
enjoy life…
shannan enjoys life! 
I keep hearing of parents who did this, and I sadly think I might not have done it when my kids were young. Hopefully my husband would have vetoed my “sensible” decision to keep kids in bed. But as a grandmother now, everything is different and I probably would have said let’s go play. 🙂 You made a wise decision.
Thank you, Lisa. I appreciate it.
Thank you for sharing this and also for sharing that you almost didn’t do it! I to know when I have had these moments as a mom where sometimes i don’t do it but then sometimes I do …. and I try to say to myself, you are a good mom, this time you did do it and oh was it right on time! Realness and I get it, fellow Mama!
You’re welcome. It is the truth. Thank you for commenting.
These are the moments you’ll remember! So glad for both your sakes that you did it. I had a homeschooling friend that found herself always telling her kids “we’ll do that someday” more frequently than she liked, so she started keeping a list of the things her kids were asking to do. One morning on a school day she woke them up and said, “guess what?!? Today is a someday!” And they went and played all day. Those kids are adults now and still remember that as one of their favorite school age memories. It’s worth it to take a day every now and then.
Good job, mom! You are offering love and joy along with education. 😊❤️
Thank you Susan. Thank you for being here. Always.
Though I was stuck at home, my daughter and grands had a 10 pm slide down their hill! The video and photos filled me with joy as they created new memories to last a long long time in this north Alabama climate…beautifully written, Shannen!
Thank you Deborah. Thank you for commenting.
Loved that you did this! Enjoyed the beauty of the snow myself.
The sad thing is that I almost didn’t. Thank you for commenting.