 |
| courtesy of makeameme.org and Game of Thrones |
The sheer amount of clothing required to leave the house is staggering: jackets, hats, gloves, scarves, socks, boots. Unfortunately, the thrill of getting to accessorize like you are going skiing gets old in about a week's time. With small children, the need to add outerwear to the mix can increase the "getting ready" time by up to, and not limited to thirty minutes. Where is the other boot? How come I can't find any socks? Please stop taking off your coat. In Houston, I don't even remember wearing socks except to workout. Did I own socks? People have some serious outdoor clothing here of which I am often envious. We are building up an arsenal, but it is slow-going.
I am starting to understand some of the charming aspects of the cold weather: hot drinks, binge watching Netflix (Nurse Jackie, anyone?), curling up and reading a good book. I think I genuinely had forgotten how to read for pleasure (thank you very much college and small children). You really have to stretch your brain to entertain yourself and toddlers on the days you are trapped inside. That being said, there is less propensity to skip events you are invited to. Inner dialogue? I'm going, and you can't stop me (winter). If there is a will, there's a way to get out of the house. I once heard, there is no bad weather, only bad clothes, which I agree with to an extent. So, here in NYC, you literally do pull yourself up by your (snow) boot straps and get to wherever you need to go. It is necessary to retain your sanity.
Once you get outside, you are faced with some challenges. There is the obvious, piles of snow, some of which has been shoveled, some not. And in a handful of key places, where it has been excavated, it is only about a foot wide, which, sadly does not accommodate any type of stroller. Once the snow starts to melt there is another set of problems. Black ice can pose an issue because it is difficult to see, get walking too fast with a hood up around your face and SLAM, flat on your back. It forms once the snow and ice melt and refreeze. Luckily, no one in our family has slipped yet, but it's only a matter of time! Puddles can also be an annoying aspect to melted snow - especially when your toddler leaps out of the stroller to jump in one and you almost run her over. The temperature seems to never reach high enough to evaporate these puddles, and therefore everything remains moist. Think Houston, but COLD. Lastly, in New York trash just goes on the sidewalk until they pick it up, so as the snow starts to melt, the trash begins to smell and show itself like secret monsters hiding in the snow.
Once you actually arrive to wear you are going, the opposite situation arises. Hello radiating heat. I'm talking, put your hair up in a ponytail, sweaty, frizzy heat. So once you disrobe from your millions of layers, where do you put it all? I have yet to figure this one out. This extreme cold and heat is also causing me and my girls to be the proud new owners of reptilian skin and bird's nest hairstyles. Take a task that is already excruciating (combing out my three-year-old's hair) and add winter wet/dry tangles - it is such a fun time of day.
We have never gone through so many boxes of tissues before. Scarlett insists on using one every time her nose runs or is itchy so as you can imagine this is fifty times a day. The girls also seem to have rotating colds which affect everything from sleeping schedules to cancelling babysitting to attending church as a family. Then there is the playground, which is always the last place snow chooses to melt. I have been jealous of my friends in Texas, enjoying 70 degree dry weather, however I do know they have those brutal summers on the way!
The blizzard this January actually did present some magical moments, the way a city that is always buzzing just shuts down. It was actually peaceful and beautiful with the snow falling, when it is clean and fresh powder. Seeing my daughters witness their first snowfall was really a joyous experience. It also made us get out and brave the cold! We found an inflatable two-seater sled and Trey pulled them straight down the city streets. They really enjoyed that until they got too cold.
The next day, hundreds of families were out sledding down the hills, building snowmen, and having snowball fights - the upside of a blizzard! That particular storm broke long-standing records, with Central Park receiving 26.8 inches of snow in a 24-hour period. It was hilarious watching the parked cars turn into huge snow mounds. The snow trucks worked all day and night clearing the roads which was really impressive, however loud they were in the middle of the night. We joined in on the snowman building and soaked up the sunlight in the bright winter wonderland.
I am starting to understand some of the charming aspects of the cold weather: hot drinks, binge watching Netflix (Nurse Jackie, anyone?), curling up and reading a good book. I think I genuinely had forgotten how to read for pleasure (thank you very much college and small children). You really have to stretch your brain to entertain yourself and toddlers on the days you are trapped inside. That being said, there is less propensity to skip events you are invited to. Inner dialogue? I'm going, and you can't stop me (winter). If there is a will, there's a way to get out of the house. I once heard, there is no bad weather, only bad clothes, which I agree with to an extent. So, here in NYC, you literally do pull yourself up by your (snow) boot straps and get to wherever you need to go. It is necessary to retain your sanity.
Once you get outside, you are faced with some challenges. There is the obvious, piles of snow, some of which has been shoveled, some not. And in a handful of key places, where it has been excavated, it is only about a foot wide, which, sadly does not accommodate any type of stroller. Once the snow starts to melt there is another set of problems. Black ice can pose an issue because it is difficult to see, get walking too fast with a hood up around your face and SLAM, flat on your back. It forms once the snow and ice melt and refreeze. Luckily, no one in our family has slipped yet, but it's only a matter of time! Puddles can also be an annoying aspect to melted snow - especially when your toddler leaps out of the stroller to jump in one and you almost run her over. The temperature seems to never reach high enough to evaporate these puddles, and therefore everything remains moist. Think Houston, but COLD. Lastly, in New York trash just goes on the sidewalk until they pick it up, so as the snow starts to melt, the trash begins to smell and show itself like secret monsters hiding in the snow.
Once you actually arrive to wear you are going, the opposite situation arises. Hello radiating heat. I'm talking, put your hair up in a ponytail, sweaty, frizzy heat. So once you disrobe from your millions of layers, where do you put it all? I have yet to figure this one out. This extreme cold and heat is also causing me and my girls to be the proud new owners of reptilian skin and bird's nest hairstyles. Take a task that is already excruciating (combing out my three-year-old's hair) and add winter wet/dry tangles - it is such a fun time of day.
We have never gone through so many boxes of tissues before. Scarlett insists on using one every time her nose runs or is itchy so as you can imagine this is fifty times a day. The girls also seem to have rotating colds which affect everything from sleeping schedules to cancelling babysitting to attending church as a family. Then there is the playground, which is always the last place snow chooses to melt. I have been jealous of my friends in Texas, enjoying 70 degree dry weather, however I do know they have those brutal summers on the way!
 |
| Watching the snowfall |
The blizzard this January actually did present some magical moments, the way a city that is always buzzing just shuts down. It was actually peaceful and beautiful with the snow falling, when it is clean and fresh powder. Seeing my daughters witness their first snowfall was really a joyous experience. It also made us get out and brave the cold! We found an inflatable two-seater sled and Trey pulled them straight down the city streets. They really enjoyed that until they got too cold.
 |
| With Savannah all bundled up |
The next day, hundreds of families were out sledding down the hills, building snowmen, and having snowball fights - the upside of a blizzard! That particular storm broke long-standing records, with Central Park receiving 26.8 inches of snow in a 24-hour period. It was hilarious watching the parked cars turn into huge snow mounds. The snow trucks worked all day and night clearing the roads which was really impressive, however loud they were in the middle of the night. We joined in on the snowman building and soaked up the sunlight in the bright winter wonderland.
 |
| Our snowperson |
 |
| Not sure what to think about this snow |
While our trip to Texas was refreshing and uplifting, it did not do much to prepare us for the winter that lay ahead. What a wake up call it has been! We are finally getting back into a routine, Scarlett in her new ballet class, exploring Pre-Kindergarten options for next year, and thinking of putting Savannah in a little gymnastics class. Meanwhile, we have been doing some homeschooling, continuing with Bible study and excited for Valentine's Day. I see heart-shaped sugar cookies in our future this week!
 |
| Indoor shenanigans |
No comments:
Post a Comment