I have a love-hate relationship with snow.
I love it. It’s beautiful. It’s fun.
It’s sloppy, dirty. And cold.
I hate it.
Living in Northeast Ohio during the winter months is an experience, to say the least. It is truly a magical and beautiful place when the snow is fresh, the flakes are big and fat, and when it’s the beginning of the snow season. There are places to ski, hills to sled and toboggan chutes to zoom down.
Everything is quiet when it snows. In the evening and nighttime hours, it is especially peaceful and tranquil. Even in the daytime hours, street sounds are hushed, dogs don’t bark as much, and most of the sounds you hear are gleeful children playing and rolling in the white, winter wonderland.
Indoors, fireplaces crackle and pop. Christmas trees glow in front windows. Furnaces warm chilly rooms. Movies are watched and extra layers of warm clothes are worn. Warm apple cider, or hot chocolate, are sipped. People snuggle together more.
It is potentially dangerous to drive, but it’s fun, exciting and an adventure every time you get in the car.
But after a week — or possibly even two — the snow turns to slush. The once white, fluffy, beautiful powder is transformed to wet, muddy, yuck. And it’s still cold.
And there’s nothing pretty left.
Sure, there are still toboggan chutes to enjoy and ski slopes to hit, but the magic has largely dissipated. The roads are still dangerous and slippery, there are tons of car wrecks, the salt permeates and ruins many a pair of shoes and boots. And it’s just plain old, gross.
And the long wait for spring begins.
Today I’ll enjoy the white, magical, mysterious, fluffy fun, falling from the sky. It’s beautiful. And Boo needs to experience the wonderment of winter. The same wonderment I felt as a child, and the same wonderment I feel today.
Thankfully I have been oblivious to my disdain for winter until just the last year or two. Hopefully Boo will remain oblivious for many years to come, and enjoy most aspects of wintertime in Northeast Ohio.
Plus, I must admit, I have to get my holiday songs in while I can. The song that keeps replaying in my mind is “Winter Wonderland.” Baby Love has already heard it three times this morning…
So, welcome Old Man Winter. We look forward to having you.
At least for a little while.
