The Snow Is Always Whiter on the Other Side

Little L has been praying for snow; like, she has literally been begging the Lord Almighty to make the white stuff come down.  When she woke up on the 2nd of January and it was gloriously green outside, she wailed with disappointment.  Since then, we have been religiously tracking the 14-day forecast on the weather app, waiting with bated breath for the snowflake icons to show up.

And snow it did.

The first snowfall happened three days ago, a slight dusting of slushy snow that mingled with the rain and made it possible to roll an impressive snowball with just my feet.  We played outside briefly, before the showers turned into a downpour.

And then it snowed again two nights ago, leaving behind a more respectable inch or so for Little L to enjoy.  It still wasn't quite a sufficient volume for us to make snow angels, but the fluffy snow was good for forming all kinds of glorious tracks.

Well, last night (and the first half of today), it has continued to snow.  I'd say that there is a good 4" of the white stuff now, and Little L has been in seventh heaven.  The roads have been deemed "treacherous" (by BC standards) and devoid of vehicles, every school in the Lower Mainland has called it a Snow Day, there are weather warnings and advisories to stay off the roadways, and families are hunkering down for what has been called "Snowmageddon."  Kids are inside enjoying hot cocoa and video games and celebrating their school closures, but my child? My kid is begging to go outside.

Which we did.  For a full hour.

Now, if you know Little L, you'd know that she is usually unwilling to leave the house, even when we beg and plead.  But for the third day in a row, she has been dragging us outside to play in the snow with her.  Even though it requires 5 minutes of dressing in multiple layers, hats and scarves and mittens and boots, she has been totally game to do this at least once (usually twice) a day.

Today's accumulated snowfall even allowed her to make angels, although her favourite thing to do has been to just lay in the snow staring up at the gray skies.

But here's the thing: we intentionally moved away from Alberta to avoid precisely this kind of weather pattern.  We grew up with snow that seemed to last for two-thirds of the year, and we did not want Little L to have to experience the character-building, back-breaking work of snow shovelling a driveway in -25ºC.  We wanted her to live in milder temperatures, and be able to see greenery year-round.

And now we have a kid who absolutely loves snow, who prays for it and enjoys it with the wild abandon that only a child can have.

Seriously!  The snow is *not* whiter on the other side; it's brown, mingled with the gravel and salt that gets sprinkled on the roadways to prevent slippage.  Life is not better with a white winter; it's just less convenient, much colder, and much more slippery for driving.

But we always want what we do not have; I guess that's just human nature.  Thank God that our snow won't stick around too long; the forecast is calling for rain and warmer temperatures by the end of the week.  I guess that's God's way of answering *my* prayer ;)

PS - My Vessi's have held up! No wet feet, no cold feet...and no socks! I seriously just slipped them on and out I went.  A full hour in -6ºC and I had no issues whatsoever.  Seriously, everyone - these are the best shoes you can own while living in the Lower Mainland!