A Norman Rockwell Moment

Duck!

We got hit by a mini-snow storm. Usually these words would make me cringe, but the flakes were wet and fat which meant they stuck to the grass and trees, but melted on the roads. My favorite type of snow. It was a virtual blizzard yet it wasn't bitterly cold and the flakes floated gently down as opposed to the icy snow that blows horizontally and stings when it hits your face.

It was a winter wonderland.

Times like these I'm thankful I live in an unpredictable region. It could have easily been a hard snow and a foot accumulation, but it wasn't - Mother Nature was kind.

We live in a temperate climate (I learned this from my fourth grader, aren't you impressed?) which means we have hot summers, cold winters and everything in between. It will be sunny and 60 degrees one day and the very next day it will be below freezing and snowing. It's frustrating at times, but it's never boring. At least when it snows here, it doesn't usually stick around very long. Today for instance, the snow is almost completely gone, only a few sporadic patches here and there. The kids were disappointed, they were hoping for enough snowfall to cancel school (which for this school district means close to a foot and/or skating rinks for roads). But that didn't deter them. As soon as they got home from school, they changed into old clothes, went outside and had snowball fights. For an hour. I had to finally call them in. (Oh, to have that ENERGY!)

Their clothes were soaked, their skin was a blotchy red and they itched, but they were happy campers. They got to participate in the winter ritual. I almost felt sorry for them, as I watched from a window sipping hot cocoa (can we say Norman Rockwell moment?). It had only snowed about an inch, just enough to cover the ground but not enough to hide the tips of the grass, so they were scooping up snow, mud and grass in their snowballs. But did they care? Not one whit. They were just having fun pummeling each other. It warms my heart to watch them because even though they are throwing them at each other, they are both mindful of where they throw; they leave the head area alone.

Our boys are such great friends, I couldn't have asked for better boys. They are just different enough to always be entertaining yet enough alike that they have developed a strong bond. Watching their boyish antics makes me smile.

There's nothing like a snowball fight to warm the heart.