I can't believe there's only 6 weeks till spring. I've been kinda busy with work, family stuff and the odd bit of DIY to get out and enjoy winter. I'm not ready for spring just yet. Well, maybe after this past Sunday I might be.
When I came home from running some errands Sunday afternoon, I saw my wife, daughter and young grandson in the backyard playing in the snow. The ladies were trying to get the little pre-toddler interested in all the cold fluffy white stuff. It was the little guy's first taste of winter. (Er, more about that later.) Anyway, grandpa just couldn't resist all that good clean fun! I picked him up and gently set him down in the soft deep drifts, to let him experience the strange sensation of standing waist deep in frosty fun. He didn't like how the snow tickled his nose. (Er, more about that later.) My wife got out the snow scoop and I sat him upright in it. He did slouch a bit, and the thick warm snowsuit made him look like a colourful little slug being pulled along slowly by grandma. His mom just laughed and snapped photos while he gazed wide eyed and unsure of the revelry. To help cement the boyhood bonds of winter play, I decided to lightly pack a snowball, and toss it into his lap, where it would explode into a million flakes of shimmering dust, and make my little man giggle with delight. So I stooped, I packed, I got his attention, and I tossed...My aim was much better when I was young. (Okay, the later part is now)
On Sunday February 8th at 4:30pm my little man got his first face full of snowball, tossed not by his first puppylove crush, not by his first schoolyard bully, not even by his little sister (please let there be one someday soon)...but by his big dumb jerk grandpa, who plainly can't hit the broadside of a barn if he tried. After much cuddling and warming of face and hands, and after we each had our respective bottles and naps, he forgave me. WHEW! We're best buddies again, rolling in blankets on the rec room floor, playing with our food, and splashing in the tub. But we both agree that we're pretty much done with winter now.
