First Snow
The kids are regularly confused about the season at hand, and about how time progresses in general. They see time in terms of events rather than minutes ticking away in a linear fashion. First comes Halloween, then Daddy’s birthday, then Thanksgiving, then the Polar Express Train Ride with Baba and Nana. They never consider the days between, the endless moments of plunking tinker toys back into their cardboard barrel or the daily tugging on and off of clothes, which will happen roughly 213 times between the two of them before they’re served up questionable hot chocolate on the Polar Express Train.
“After Halloween then it be snow time?” Rose asks trying to get a handle on things.
“Nobody knows when the first snow will come honey; we don’t have control over the weather.”
“What control mean?” She asks. We’re getting into that sticky territory of being two where conversations are like an exciting tennis match. I answer one question and she lobs one right back at me until either my head explodes or I start to sound like a 50’s mom deeply engaged in stirring her afternoon martini: “because that’s just the way it works dear.” Pass the olives.
Truthfully, Rose has an ulterior motive in tracking the arrival of “snow time.” We drive past the twisty indoor slide of our local Burger King on a regular basis. When Rose first saw the colorful indoor playground through her car window, she exclaimed “Donalds! We go there!” Which was true. We had recently returned from a 2 day drive with the children, in which McDonalds playland* was a prominent feature (I know, I know…odes to chard and wild meat and now this?).
I told her that maybe we could go to Donalds playland to have french fries in winter if it was a really snowy day and we didn’t have anything planned and we needed to burn off some energy. Of course all Rose heard was when it snows we’ll be eating french fries, pretty much daily.
This morning it snowed! Our first of the season. Anyone hungry for french fries?
*why do I feel like I just confessed to letting my kids play in traffic with knives duct taped to their fingers?
Snow on crabapples
I guess the chickens need some moccasins or snowshoes – they’ve been milling around the door of the coop all morning like “is it still wet out there?”
As long as she’s got her elephant suit on, Rose is pretty comfortable in the snow
Cabbage and green onions, just chillin’.
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Beautiful. I love picture you as the ’50s mom stirring the maritini! Enjoy the snow!!
Sorry that was a comment by Linda. Not some crazy stalker. yikes.
Yikes! I’m bad at this comment thing. That was Linda, not some crazed stalker.
oh wow! snow! girls in elephant suits On Trampolines! And green onions that look like a snowed in grasshopper. What’s a few french fries (just had some myself today). I’d heard on the news there was snow “out there.” Love the crabapple pic, really gorgeous. I’ve been reading all along though you haven’t heard from me lately. My loudest laugh (very loud) was a few posts ago, when you mentioned Rose carrying “chokeables” — oh you are a bad mama! We are so careful, but can you imagine life if we really lived like all the safety manuals and regulations would have us live?
Love the martini reference….I have resorted to, “Because God made it that way” (I’m not religious at all….but need something to fall back on). This is not good enough though – I then get, “Why? Who’s God? Where is he?” Oh boy….
Great pic of Rose in the snow and the suit – I love it! And I’m glad to hear that you sometimes frequent McD’s or BK, even though you DO grow all of your own stuff. Makes me feel not so bad for NOT growing all of my own stuff :-)
rachel!
i am right there with you with the question and answer go roudn that doesn’t seem to get wnywhere really. so pass the olives. and love rose in the elephant suit, soon, sab
I so love your writing! The comments being lobbed at you like tennis balls was funny, and I guess I related a bit too well. You stir that martini girl, at least Rose isn’t mixing them for you – Shayden already knows how to sniff wine!! Oh, and if memories haven’t failed too bad – snow before Halloween in Durango was always a pretty sure bet. Miss it, and miss you!!