The advent of snow, especially to the uninitiated child, is a treat for parents. It is also a curse. Let me explain what I mean. This is the first year that our son can truly enjoy snow and snow related activities. It also happens to be the first time in 80 years that New York City has seen this much snowfall. The combination means that there has been snow pretty much every week since mid-December and it looks like some more is on its way as I write.
The jumps of joy, the laughter and the twinkle in my son’s eyes are priceless and contagious. He loves touching the snow and marveling at how cold the white substance feels on his fingers. He asks where did it go when it inevitably melts. He loves how it cushions his fall and how his feet disappear from sight when he steps in a snow bank. From the time we get outside to when it is time to retreat to warmer quarters the family moments are endless.
That brings me to the flip side of snow. The planning around closed schools. The inevitable struggle to get snow pants and boots onto a fidgety kid. The ice and wind that envelopes you as you watch your kid running around. The mud and slush on boots and soaked outerwear. The sniffles and coughs that appear the morning after.
In the end, you will do anything to see your kid smile so you look at the good and grin and bear the bad. The winter season is not as long as spring, summer and fall so it playing in the snow is really a treat that comes around a few months a year compared to the much longer mild and warm weather months in which my son can run around the park and playground without looking like the Michelin Man. I am bracing myself for the next wave, but for my kid’s sake: let it snow!