i'm getting old. i mean, really. i remember being a kid in cleveland heights, ohio and going out in the snow to make snowmen, have snowball fights, doing snow angels. i loved the snow (although i think i loved coming in from the snow and curling up with a good book after more). the cold would eventually get to me, but generally didn't bother me from the get-go (i do think i had a thinner skin than my brother though).
not anymore!
last night we got snow. it didn't last long, but that couple of hours was more than enough for me. i'm sure some of the distaste comes from not having insulation, but saxy did build a fire early in the day and keep it going, so the house was actually a little toastier than usual. of course, every time someone opened the door, the heat got sucked out like oxygen out of an airlock. but the fire built it all back up pretty quickly. i pretty much stayed buried under blankets. as did froggy since she's sick. she did get to come and watch it fall through one of the windows (and have snowballs thrown at her by saxy--lots of squealing ensued).
the real surprise, however, was my son. taz is not a water kid. in the summer, he hates going under the sprinklers. baths would be notoriously short without reminders to wash up his hair and whatnot. his favorite use for water is drinking it--two or three times a night sometimes! so we figured he'd be interested in the snow since it's uncommon enough to be fascinating for at least a few seconds, but it wouldn't be something he'd enjoy.
we couldn't have been more wrong. he adored the snow. watching it, touching it, snowballing it, throwing it. he brought a handful into the house to show me, all excited about it. he wanted froggy to come out and play in it even though she was sick. he even wanted to call his dad and tell him about it (which he did). i think he would have stayed out there until it started raining despite the cold. he was really excited about it.
the positive for us? he went to sleep almost immediately when we finally put him to bed. who would have thought all he needed was a half hour or so in snow to get tired enough to go to sleep. i thought the excitement would keep him up all night. i guess the snowball throwing with saxy wore him out.
now, though, the snow is gone. it's just plain cold. REALLY cold. and wet. the rain started late last night. most of the snow has been rained away. what has stayed turned into ice. so, yea, really cold, cold, cold. and not only is it seeping into my bones and making me want to just crawl into bed and stay under the covers, it's also bringing out every ache and pain i've ever had.
yep, old. old and very cold.
~*~
word of the moment: fortitude
strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage.
