Winter Play

I find it most curious how I can barely tolerate weather below 60 degrees but as a kid in New York, even on the coldest, snowiest days, my brother Mark, along with neighborhood friends, would bundle up for outdoor play. Whether we were building snow forts, snowmen or spending hours sledding at our elementary school just a couple blocks away, I never seemed to mind the cold and snow. Even with runny noses, numbing toes and nearly frostbitten ears. When Mark and I would drag our numb, frozen parts home, our mother would make sure we took off our snowy boots in the garage and then we would go inside to thaw out. No matter how cold we got, the next day it would be the same routine. Our childhood was fun and exciting, snow, ice and all.

When I had my children, taking the girls to experience the snow was not something on my radar. I really can't tolerate the cold any longer (sometime after going to Jamaica at age 19 permanently shifted my internal thermometer) so the things I had on our family list were all
around warmer temperatures.

 Then when Amara and Havana were younger, Don began to talk of a trip to the snow.  I thought, "that could be fun." We ended up with several families for weekend in Tahoe. Confession; While the kids played I stayed inside! (Havana was only about one so she stayed with me.) They all had a blast and so fast forward a few years, when they were old enough to enjoy more and remember,  I bit the snowball again and off we went.

It turned out that the cold (and it was cold, 18-27 degrees cold) was managable for us all (well, except when Havana didn't listen about taking her gloves off and she stuck her bare hand in the snow. That was no fun.) We bundled up and took in the silent beauty that was all around us. It was magical, sacred and thoroughly fun.  Amara even took her first ski lesson while Havana and I took in some local site seeing.

When I left New York sixteen years ago, I had thought my winter days were gone for good. But it seems that we may just be making winter trips to mountains for years to come.

Everything is more fun with Papa Don. 

Amara finally got wise and used the googles for our ride down the hill

After a hard day at play, the girls snuggled up for a movie in front of the fire.

And of course, a book before bed. (Havana was a real trooper; she had a low grade fever the entire weekend.)

Lake Tahoe is beautiful any time of year.