I look at that post title and I feel ashamed of myself. We NEED snow; I shouldn't criticize it by calling it a nuisance. Is it just because I've gotten so old? Do I need to move to Tucson (at least for the winter)? I don't know if I'm that far gone, but it is true that I do not enjoy snow as much as I used to. It's attractive when it's falling, assuming one is snug at home with no need to go out to work, take children to school, pick up children from school, visit the grocery store, etc. And then it stops. When I was 30 and lived in an apartment, that meant it was time to go for a lovely walk in the new-fallen snow. And now that I am 58 and live in a house, it means that it is time to go out and shovel the walks so as not to be fined by the city. And then the ice forms, and the slush (technically I guess it's slush first and then ice). And unless you have a major extended warm-up soon after, the slush/ice problem goes on for days and days.
There are, however, benefits to snow, and I feel that it is important to make the most of those benefits. For me, there is the brief acknowledgement that snow is pretty, perhaps when I happen to look up and notice the mountains on my way home from walking the kids to school (the problem is that I am mostly looking at my feet, so as not to slip on the ice, so I do not see the beauty). For the children, the benefits include (1) cold wet stuff to throw at one's brother, (2) huge piles of cold wet stuff created by snowplows to climb on, (3) slippery stuff to slide on while walking to/from school (yes, they think ice is FUN), and of course (4) the transformation of a grassy hill into a sledding slope.
We had a decent (5-6 inches) snowfall on Wednesday, and it hasn't gotten above the 30s since then (in fact, for a few days it barely reached the 10s) which meant that today, Saturday, was Sledding Day! Of course, first it was Library Day, followed by a quick trip to the grocery store, and after lunch we watched a movie we'd gotten at the library. But around about 2:30 we made it to Scott Carpenter Park, which has a good sledding hill, and although the crowds had thinned, the snow was still good. It was actually very slick, but Kids A and B assured me it was better that way, faster. I wouldn't know -- I don't sled. I usually don't even go along these days, but I thought it would be fun to go today, and it was. (Though cold -- it's always freezing cold on top of that hill, and I didn't have a hat.)
Rocket Boy found our old inflatable sled in the basement and brought it along, and once it was blown up the kids wanted to play on it pretty much exclusively. In fact, they fought quite angrily over it. First Kid B grabbed it and rode it down the hill by himself, then they rode it together, then Kid A wanted a turn alone but Kid B grabbed it for himself again. They can get quite violent with each other, not to mention profane, and RB and I were a little embarrassed, particularly since most of the other kids on the hill were a lot younger than them. RB and I reminisced about when the boos were babies (see http://welcometoridgecrest.blogspot.com/2010/02/sledding.html for details). Nine years ago we got that sled! Nine years ago they wore little coats with hoods that made them look like elves! and now they're so big and not cute at all. Fortunately we still love them.
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