Day 4

Today, it snowed. I'm not a fan of snow. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I hate the stuff. I have gone so far to say that. A lot of times. Often with a few obscenities tossed in, you know, for good measure.

Digs was digging today's first snowfall of the season (12/8/11)

My family was surprised when I signed on for four years at Allegheny College in snowy Meadville, Pennsylvania. (Save for the snow situation, it was one of the best decisions of my life. In part because it was there I met some of the most amazing people I know, including Holly Tedesco and Cara Pasqualone, who'd better be reading to hear about what an impact they've had on me.) When I moved to Vermont in 2002, my family was just confused. Why was a girl who hated the cold and the snow moving to Vermont? Story for another day.

What I'll will say is that snow still makes me cranky, sad and anxious. Cranky because, when it's cold,  I like to drink coffee and stay dry, not scrape the windshield and drive an icy 14 miles to an office. Or 6 miles to the boys' daycare. Or anywhere. Sad and anxious because I want to become a rugged, awesome snowboarder--like everyone else around here seems to be--but speeding down a mountain strapped to a board still scares the shit of out of me. 

But here's the conversation I had with Jules this morning:
Jules (very excited): "Mom! It snowed! It's Christmas."
Me (summoning enthusiasm): "Wow. It did snow. But it's not Christmas. It's winter."
Jules (Again, very excited, looking out the window): "Look at the tree! It looks like a Spidey web."
Me: "Yes, it does. It's super pretty isn't it?"

It was incredibly beautiful. And, you know what? I think that a fake-it-(for the kids' sake)-till-I-make-it approach to winter might really work wonders for me this year. This afternoon, Ri and I took Digs and Butler for a walk on the snowy trails. And it was awesome.