Even though they say we might be getting more snow, I’m closing the door on this winter. Tonight Max argued with me vigorously about when the first day of spring is. He insisted it is tomorrow. For a moment I actually thought about giving in and letting him win. Yes Max, if you say so, tomorrow will be spring.
I have been thinking about this past winter and all of things I wanted to do, all of the things we did do, and all of the things we didn’t get around to.
Let’s get the bad part out of the way first. I really wanted to get the boys skiing this year. I love skiing but haven’t been in years. I thought that 4 would be the perfect age to introduce a new and exciting winter activity.
Blame it on the baby, I guess. We just could not work out the logistics of handling two 4 year olds on the slopes while one adult hung out with Wesley. It’s supposed to be fun right? No imagined scenario ended with us (the adults) having a good time. So we passed.
For some reason I have been fixating on how we didn’t get to do some of the traditional winter activities. But when I think about it, we didn’t do too bad. In spite of the brutal weather, we managed to get out and have a lot of fun with our boys.
Here are some of my highlights…
1. We learned to enjoy the beach even in the snow. After all, it was pretty much covered all winter.
2. We learned to enjoy every single moment of nice weather. We tracked those forecasts and ran outside when temps rose just a little.
3. We learned we could have a lot of fun in our own backyard. Jeremy and I tend to grab the boys and go places, but this winter the boys really had a blast playing at home.
4. We found our new favorite place, The Grounds for Sculpture.
5. We found something new at an old favorite place, Island Beach State Park.
6. We went down really, really big water slides with Max and Theo. This was just a peak at what is to come. I’m so excited for all of the new things we will be able to experience with them as they get older.
I really do want to start skiing and tubing with the boys. I also can’t wait to start winter camping. It is easy to slip into the future tense when you have young ones, to imagine all the possibilities when they get just a bit older.
It was a long winter, way tougher than we are used to here at the Jersey Shore. Even though it took a bit more effort, we managed to get out and discover new things…about our world, our children, and ourselves.
Now Spring.
