Well, it started snowing as we left church Sunday and hasn’t stopped. The kids and I shoveled the driveway Monday morning but I know we’ll have to be back at it Tuesday morning. We’ll just call it our P.E. for the day.

This will be our third full winter here and now that I realize we’re staying (yes, I know, a little slow on the uptake) I really need to get a snow jacket-coat thing. I was shoveling in my good black church coat because it’s the only warm one I have. I used to have a ski coat; my parents took us to Colorado to go skiing almost every winter from elementary school to junior high. I loved it. I loved skiing and I loved the hot chocolate afterwards. And I loved that I didn’t have to deal with the snow.

Okay, I actually didn’t realize that last love until three years ago but believe me, playing in the snow then getting to leave it is a good thing! (It's also a good thing when your parents are buying the snow coat. I just priced them on-line and they are not exactly cheap.)

I almost feel guilty complaining about the snow because the scene from my backdoor is just beautiful. A blanket of white covers everything. Evergreen boughs heavy with snow are mere steps from my porch. The weeds in our island are voided by the frozen stuff. Truly Christmas card material. And I do love looking at the snow. It’s the walking in it and shoveling it and getting wet because of it I am not fond of.

Speaking of getting wet… why don’t we carry umbrellas for the snow? It’s just frozen water. We carry umbrellas for rain so why not snow? In the time it took me to walk from my car to Meijer today my coat and hair were soaked. That could have been avoided if I’d only used an umbrella.

I may have to start a trend.