| The
First Good Meal of Winter |
| Little, white snowflakes fell from the sky as my children
napped last Sunday. And when my 4-year-old daughter came downstairs
and looked out the window, she naturally went crazy to get
outside and play. |
| This was the first snowfall of the year, after all, and
there wasn't a kid anywhere in Northern Virginia who didn't
want to get outside to sample what little snow coverage we
received. |
| Four-year-olds, and their 21-month old brothers, aren't
exactly self-sufficient at that age, so my wife spent about
an hour getting both of them dressed warmly, booted, zipped,
scarfed, hatted and gloved. |
| My daughter rushed out the door and ran into the front yard.
Try to build a snowman? No. Want to make snowballs? No. Ready
to go sledding? No. Audrey took a few steps into the lawn
and then got busy with the activity she missed so much since
last year's winter: eating snow. |
| We can hardly get the girl to eat a healthy dinner every
night, but she stood out there in our front yard for 15 minutes
happily munching away on a handful of pure, white snow. |
| Her brother, meanwhile, was struggling with his first conscious
experience with snow. He screamed and stood in one place until
someone picked him up and moved him to another location. Then
he screamed some more. |
| All bundled up with his arms sticking straight out at his
sides, Charlie did finally settle down. Audrey got him involved
in her second-favorite winter activity: catching snowflakes
on her tongue. |
| When it comes to snow, there's nothing like homemade. |
