*This post is part of a collaborative project - a year of stories shared by a group of 15 photographers every Monday in 2016. Please visit Allison Gipson Photography after you read this post to continue the circle. *
We go into each winter with the hopeful expectation of having at least one snow. Most years we do get a good one, if not a few. But there will always be that year when we get missed by happenstance of how the winds blow. The Boy's first year of preschool was that way. The possibility of that looms in my mind. On top of that, moving three hours away into Virginia added further question onto whether we'd have much snow at all.
The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? - J. B. Priestley
I came across that quote recently and that describes our Sunday morning, exactly one week ago. After the weekend we just had, it seems a little silly to highlight what we woke to on Sunday, January 17th. And yet, it was a magical morning for our family. They had forecasted a dusting of snow but we really didn't expect it to amount to much. It didn't stick to the roads or our patio, but it collected enough on the grass to be fun for the kids. We roused them out of bed to get out in our winter wonderland, for we knew that by noon it would all be melted away.
We dressed in all of our snow gear (that makes me feel immense gratitude every time I pull it out. I grew up playing in the snow in my tennis shoes and sweat pants and always being cold and oh so wet. I am so very thankful they come inside every time nearly bone dry). It was idyllic for playing, for there was no wind at all and the temperature hovered right at freezing. It wasn't warm but it was as comfortable as being in the snow can be. After a little bit of play in the yard and attempts at sledding, we headed off into our woods to do what we do best: explore.
They ran to all of their favorite spots, seeing everything in a completely new way because it was whitewashed clean and even. It's amazing how the removal of distraction gives you new perspective. They had to dust the snow from any trees with remaining foliage onto their heads. We found a vine that had draped itself into a natural swing, so large that it could hold their weight. We stayed out as long as we could until everyone had burned off their breakfast and needed lunch. Before long the sun had come out and all evidence of our morning fun had melted away.
Little did we know that less than a week later, we really would get that one good snow for 2016!
Please visit Allison Gipson Photography after you read this post to continue the circle.
*This post is part of a collaborative project - a year of stories shared by a group of 15 photographers every Monday in 2016. Please visit Allison Gipson Photography after you read this post to continue the circle. *