On Second Thought
Snowless winter can be
blamed on Mom’s
snowpants preparedness
Monday’s dusting of snow, as uneventful as it may have been for most people, was a big deal in the Ehde household.
Just two days prior to that big weather event, I joined our two boys outside in the yard Saturday expecting to find them tooling around on bikes and trikes. It’s not every year we can enjoy such dry-ground activities in January, but they didn’t see it as an opportunity.
Rather, they saw the gray snowless day as a good time to mourn the absence of winter.
It was cold and blustery, so they were dressed for the elements, but that only drew attention to their plight: They were all dressed for snow with no snow to romp in.
As a moderate snow fan myself, I admit the sight was pretty pathetic.
There they sat, one in front of the other, behind the controls of a snowmobile parked on bare brown grass.
What’s even worse, the sled was parked in the middle of what would normally be a big snow pile on the yard.
"Maahhm, is it ever going to snow?" wailed Jonathan, 6.
He affectionately recalled the winter of 2000-01 when he and Grandpa Ehde made a fort in a snow bank so tall even the big people could stand up in it.
Carson, at 19 months, is too young to know or care about snow. What he does know is that anything with handlebars and ignition keys should go "vvrroom," and this machine was going nowhere.
"Look at the bright side," I tried to reason. "Mom hasn’t slid into a snowy ditch yet this winter, and everyone knows if Mom’s happy, we’re all happy."
Just like washing
the car brings rain …
I have my own reasons for being disappointed in our snowless winter: I was actually prepared for it this year and it didn’t matter.
For the first time in six years Jonathan’s winter outerwear supply was ready for the first snow and well-stocked for the entire winter.
In a typical winter, we scramble to buy snow pants during the first snowfall. That first set wears through by Thanksgiving, and I’m left scrounging through sold-out store racks for more pants in his size.
This year — in October, no less — I smartly bought three pairs of snow bibs all at once. I was even smart enough to buy one a size larger than the other two, in case of a growth spurt before spring.
Until Monday, all three hung uselessly in the back of the closet, along with his new boots and extra pairs of gloves.
I guess it’s like washing the car causes rain … All of Rock County can thank me for our lack of snow this year, because for once, I was prepared for it.
