Another Snow Day {The Ordinary Moments #7}

I don’t know if you noticed this week but it snowed a little bit!? Who knew ey!! The ‘beast from the east’, or storm Emma; whatever you like to call it truly took hold of the entire UK and I am sure that along with many other people we had a closed school and a fair few snow days stuck in the house. Truth be told we are still very much in it as although it hasn’t snowed much more in the last 24 hours here in Staffordshire we are still left with a thick layer and mounds of slush piled up along the roads and gardens everywhere you look, which may take a while to clear. Or perhaps the 10 days of rain forecast will take care of that!

I have absolutely loved seeing everyone playing in it, whether that is sharing online (Instagram has been a whole vision of white this week) or families and dog walkers covering the park it has been beautiful. The roads have been somewhat deserted and it kind of feels like Christmas, where no plans or rushing around meant soaking in the moment more (Eddy still made it to work though unfortunately so maybe it wasn’t exactly like Christmas!)

I wrote about the snow days when we had it in December and I have to say I was definitely not expecting to be talking about it again as we entered into March. Just like then though, I love the sense of community that the snow, and being helped in the snow, seems to bring out. We may not cope with extreme weather well in this country but we sure can provide that community spirit – and a hot cup of tea when the whole place comes to a halt!

Therefore school was forced to close on Thursday and Friday so instead of writing about her World Book Day adventures and the last minute panic buying for said day, here we are with snow day photos! As we awoke Thursday morning Eva bless her was up and dressed in her Miss Honey outfit before I had even opened my eyes and definitely before we had opened the curtains. As we awaited the message that school was closed, which due to internet issues at school didn’t come in until 10 minutes before we were due to leave, Eva cried her little heart out about not going. Little tears spread down her face as she reluctantly took off her outfit so as not to ‘ruin’ it and she cursed the snow a little, she definitely wasn’t excited just yet.

As this dissipated, thankfully, and after being cooped up inside all morning we took a trip to the local gardens with the sledge and wrapped up in as many layers as we could muster. She was excited now and was so brave running up steep hills and even getting herself buried where it was so soft and so deep that she couldn’t even slide down it! She pulled Roma and just wanted to play and explore, she really wanted to go to the top of the steepest hill and whizz down as fast as she could. Her wide smile and roaring laugh were so infectious and I really couldn’t stop looking at her knee deep in snow and diving right in without a care in the world.

Meanwhile, and not to paint the picture of a perfect snowy outing and the arctic wind and -4 temperature was a little bit too much for Roma, once she had a go on the sledge, had humoured everyone with a snow angel and tried her best to climb the big hill the same as Eva and she was crying that she wanted to go home. It was so hard trying to split myself in two, to fulfil both of their needs and indeed try and stay on my own feet (something I didn’t quite manage all of the time, picture me walking up a deep slope and falling flat on my face with camera in hand whilst Roma cried behind me, you do have to laugh!)

Needless to say we called it a day and returned home for hot chocolate and nature documentaries. The girls put their dressing gowns on and snuggled together on the sofa for warmth. Eva was so understanding even though she really wanted to stay out and I am so proud of her for putting others before herself. After more games and inside activities we ventured purely to the safety of the garden for more snow fun where this time they wanted to stay out in the blizzard for as long as they could. I don’t know if it perhaps the safety of the house just a few feet away or the sheltering from the wind but they played for ages on the snow covered trampoline, the outside kitchen and making mounds of snow as high as they could.

There is something about the snow that I find to be calming and peaceful, it makes even the most ordinary of things beautiful and seems to stop time just for a little bit. It might be disruptive to our lives don’t get me wrong, we get a little bit of cabin fever and I am definitely over it now but it is still exciting and worth trying to make the most of the differing seasons, just like we did this week.

Having said all of that I am quite ready for spring now, for daffodils and tulips and days without 100 layers required, so if you would like to oblige mother nature, I’d be most appreciative. Thank you kindly.

x