Usually, when the kids ask which is my least favorite season, I don’t hesitate to answer that it’s winter. It’s cold, icy, wet, muddy, and it’s so much harder to pull your baby brother in the wagon across the yard.
Sure, there are some fun things about the colder weather, like hot chocolate, the warm fire in the wood burning stove, building snowmen…
…but then there’s also a lot of stuff like when the cows rub their rear ends on the switch that controls the deicer in their automatic waterer, thus turning it off. That means hauling lots and lots of water until it thaws. Boo!
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Last winter was actually pretty bearable. We didn’t get a lot of freezing weather or snow, but this one has been much more of a typical winter. In an effort to see on the bright side of things, I will say that all the freezing weather has been good for one thing: ice skating.
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| Kate wearing her Great Grandma Lamb’s skates. |
A couple years ago, I dug out some of my old ice skates from my parent’s place and brought them back home and ever since then, we haven’t gotten enough cold weather to freeze the pond enough to skate on it. Not this year!
Jack marked the edge of the allotted skating area–they stay near the end that isn’t particularly deep anyway. I showed them how to lace up and sent them off to figure it out themselves. Normally, I’d go out with them, but I am not willing to slip and fall on my rear end while pregnant. No, thank you. I’ll stick to taking pictures.
Henry doesn’t have any skates that are his size yet, so he enjoys occupying his time shoveling paths in the snow for his sisters to follow while skating. Sometimes, he challenges them to a footrace while they skate, and it is awfully hilarious watching them slip and slide on skates or shoes.
Sometimes, Raven and the cats join for a romp around the ice, and yesterday, Jack found a pair of gently used skates that were his size. I believe he used the word “serendipitous” no less than three times when describing how he happened upon them. He’s been out skating with the kids, showing them how it’s done.
So, though there’s a lot of stuff I don’t particularly care for about winter, I’m going to try (try!) to focus on the things that make the season magical. Like happy kids gliding over the ice while I watch from inside.
