Winter has come

I've been trying to remember when I last experienced a winter like this one. I remember one in high school, back in Illinois, that was COLD for a long time, windy, icy roads, lots and lots of snow in the way it gets in the midwest. 

That's a long time ago now. 

This one has been challenging. It was great for a while--the snow just kept coming right through the holidays, the skiing was better and better, it stayed cold enough for the snow to stay fresh and soft. We had fun. 

We skied and played and sledded and ran and hiked. 

We stayed indoors and got cozy and prepped for the coming of this hygge thing. Good practice. 

We took a New Year's trip to Sun Valley and had a fantastic winter vacation in the cold and snow and sun. 

We came home, and the snow kept falling. 

And the ice came, and the cold stayed. We found interesting ways to entertain ourselves, like creating a reading box. So Theo had a place to read. This was our neighbor Amy's idea. Genius. 

School snow days meant working from home with a new office mate. Lots of fun. Productive, even. 

We got out. Went for a couple walks. Went to movies...

It was tough to escape. These days, we're spending our time on ladders with ice picks, or in gutters with wading boots, chipping ice and clearing ice dams and trying to find and open storm drains to prepare for the impending melt flood. 

I'm remembering what really having winter was like, as a kid, in Illinois. Much of it is great. Some of it is not. But, there's always one fantastic thing, if you just make the effort. 

Get out and have fun. Play in the snow. Seek the sun. Stay human. 

And stay warm and dry, Boise.