Snow...

The kids woke me this morning, shaking me awake with their excited voices. "It's snow, Mom!" The volume of their voices alone made me sit up instantly. I looked out my window to see our back yard covered with a thin layer of snow. It was truly inviting. The minute we stepped outside to start our walk to school, the kids were excitedly throwing snowballs at each other. They were squealing with delight as they dodged each other's snowballs, frantically trying to make snowballs before getting hit with one. On the way to school their footprints covered as much new snow as they could find. When we arrived at the school yard, it was complete chaos. There was no safe place to stand if you wanted to avoid getting hit with a snowball. Usually, the school yard is a quiet place in the mornings. Apart from a few kids stalling off the start of school as long as possible, most kids walk straight to their classroom doors occasionally offering a wave to their parents as they go. Today, no one wanted to go inside. The kids were racing around the playground scooping up snowball remnants on the run. Even the parents were found smiling about the snow. The teachers finally had to dig out a whistle to get the kids to go inside. When the kids heard the whistle, they paused wondering what the sound meant. School was the farthest idea from their minds. As I walked back from the school, I had to laugh. It isn't like the weather is much different today than yesterday. It is just frozen rain. However, I think that sometimes we all need a tiny change in our day to make it feel different. Routine can get a little stale and sometimes all we need is a little something to make the routine look a little more sparkly. (Picture: Our back yard this morning)