Throwing a Curve Ball

When a weekend that brought a few needed rays of golden sunshine and a few hours of scraping the sidewalk with chalk and blackening our bare feet is superseded by the sky’s furious blast of wet snow, sleet and hail, as if it were some last-ditch effort to keep our affections, what do we do?

This photo was taken just a few short days ago, outside, where there was no snow to be found.

We abandon our evening plans of leaving the littles with their favorite sitter and arriving early to make-out in the back of the theater until that all-too-familiar sound marks the beginning of the flick and we settle in for greasy movie-theater popcorn fingers and snacks we snuck in between the random pencil, lipstick tube and hair tie in the bottom of my purse.  We revert to that pre-Spring pulse of hibernation, battening down the hatches and pulling another sweater over our heads.  Where time moves a little slower and so do we.  Where we eat dinner at the table, exchanging stories between yawns with candles lit as a warm ambiance in front of the cold outdoor backdrop.

And this photo was taken last night.

Look who’s feeding himself WITH A SPOON!

Okay, and sometimes he chucks the spoon on the floor and uses his hands instead, but still.

And then, in an unpremeditated stroke of energy and adventure, we suit up and head out into the thick blanket of white, shovels and sleds, carrots and prunes in hand… and build a snowman. Two, in fact.

Guys, meet Fluffy and Tuffy.

Aliyah’s creations. I thought I should tell you because, most certainly, the names weren’t any indication.  That or the size of Tuffy’s head.

That’s one of the beautiful, amazing things about this life we’re all living.  You really don’t know what’s coming next.  Plans may be laid with excited anticipation, and then life throws a curve ball… sometimes a big snowy one, and things change.  The key is embracing it for all it’s worth and sucking the marrow out of each moment we have.  We could have sulked, since we’re so ready for spring, but instead we played. We played hard. We chose to run and laugh and throw our own big curvy snowballs in the spontaneous spring blizzard.  We wore ourselves out, content to settle in to knit sweaters and cozy blankets, perfect for hibernating. And my favorite part? Nestling my squishy little baby bear up close and being lulled to sleep myself by his rhythmic suck-suck-breathe and satisfied exhales.  It was just as relaxing to this mama bear as it was for him, I’m sure.

Dude loves to eat.

A special shout out to Bonito Design, who featured his splash of a first Birthday Bash here!