Warming up to Winter

I have to admit that despite being known as a “kid at heart” with my friends and family when it comes to winter with its snow, ice and cold temperatures I’ve become somewhat of a scrooge.  I used to love snow days where I’d spend hours sledding down the neighborhood's boat ramp onto the icy lake by our house or spend the afternoon in battle royal snow ball fights with all the kids on the block celebrating a day off from school.  As an adult though, I’ve found myself with more of a Bah Humbug attitude when it comes to the winter.  I’m not actually sure what led to this digression of attitude. Was it the bone chilling walks to class in college, the long commutes to work surrounded by people who are either too scared to or too reckless to drive safely on icy roads, or maybe the next door neighbor who snow blows everything in his driveway directly into the road so that the city snowplow piles it up blocking my garage that changed my attitude?  It doesn’t really matter; I had lost my childhood appreciation of snow days.

Then it snowed over this Christmas holiday.  This was the first time since my children were born we’ve had a thick enough snow fall to go out and play in it and we really took advantage of it!  The kids made snow angels, I helped my son build his very first snow man, and we spent a day sledding at a local park.  I was reminded by my children about the magic of a snow day and how I had loved winter myself as a child.  During these recent snow days, I was able to help my son and daughter enjoy a childhood love of winter and we created some cherished memories that everyone in our family is always going to appreciate.  Do I love winter again now? NO, but I am warming up to it!

What are your favorite winter activities? Are there any special or unique things you do on snow days with your children? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.