Sparkly Snow :)

Last winter was one of the "worst" winters I can recall in my adult life.  So.  Much.  Snow.  So cold.  We had lots of cancelled school, which meant some seriously awesome lazy days with my girl.  We stayed in our jammies, played board games, and went sledding sometimes two or three times a day!  Those snow days are some of my most precious memories with my daughter to date.  Just last night, after tutoring, we purchased another $5.00 sled from Wal Mart.  The one we have been using is the round disc sled, but the one she asked for last night was the toboggan style, and frankly, I wanted my own sled.  :)  The best part about this latest sled purchase was that I ALSO purchased cat food and litter last night, and those mothers are HEAVY.  But not when you have a TOBOGGAN SLED TO PULL THEM TO YOUR DOOR. 

We had to take the new sled for a spin when we got home (not just with groceries, but on our SWEET hill beside our house).  It was FREEZING, but the sky was GORGEOUS.  The sun was just setting, and we were fortunate enough to be outside for the amazing spectacle of stars, full moon, the works.  Not to mention, the blanket of beautiful, white, SPARKLING snow that made our entire yard glow in the moonlight.  I "ran" (I doan't really run, so I feel the quotation marks are necessary) through the yard, pulling Molly behind me in the sled as I delighted in her giddy laughter.  I thought my lungs were getting frostbitten, but it was totally worth it. :)  (Did I mention it was cold?)  Then, she wanted to take it down the big hill at the edge of the yard--even though I was pretty certain my fingers and toes were somewhere lost in the snow after they froze and broke off of my body, I humored her.  I'm so glad I did.  I stood at the bottom of that hill, watching my joyful little girl prance around in the snow, on a mission, having so much fun with her new sled.  I saw her running back and forth to find the perfect slope to take the sled down, and as she would try to climb back up (it was really icy at this point), she would giggle as she slid right back down to the bottom.  At one point I heard her say to herself, "Alright, Molly, it's time to get real."  She climbed right up after that little motivational speech.  She's definitely got determination. :)

As I stood there watching my amazing daughter seize the few moments she had to sled in the dark, I made myself stop and savor that image.  It made me think of our snow days together last year, and how much she has grown in a year--and how much more she'll grow this coming year.  Time can be such a blessing and such a curse... 

I remember holding her as an infant and telling myself to savor each moment.  Someone told me that it was ok to just sit and stare at your baby and soak in every single part of their being before it slips away.  So, since I got permission from someone (I can't even remember who that genius was...) I did it!  It gets harder and harder to do that as she's getting older, (not hold her and stare at her--that would be creepy) but to stop and savor the moments--that is something I promised myself I would always try to do.  Savor my time.  Even in the "worst" winters, savor it.  It goes way too fast and I want to make sure I'm not missing out on the moments that could potentially pass me by...