Life Changes Abruptly Here in a Rare Snow

I love the immediate 180° shift that snow brings here – kids stay home from school, families sled and build snowmen, businesses aside from the essentials all close, people stay in and do intentional activities together, and life is like a picture in a little snow globe. I appreciate it so much more since it only happens once or twice a winter, and I feel an excited urgency every time it’s upon us to enjoy every last minute of it outside because you never know when it will turn to rain and be gone in a few hours, which is what’s happening as I write this.

When we awakened to it on Wednesday and I walked into town to explore the new terrain, Eastsound was the quietest I’ve ever seen on a snow day. Usually a foot or two of snow will bring out the walkers – those of us who don’t own trucks and Subarus – headed to Island Market for warm food and human contact, looking for a cup of coffee, or on their way to the sled hill at the public school. But I barely passed a soul.

Yesterday, knowing our stunning snow window may be gradually closing today, I enjoyed every hour I could out in it until dusk. But this year was remarkably different from all the previous years as a mom – I was solo almost the entire time. One child is in college and the other was adventuring with a good friend. I walked alone, sledded alone, and explored alone.

If you didn’t make it into Eastsound or were held captive on your property by the snow, here is a look around…

I took my last few sled runs last night in the dark. It was some of the slickest, fastest snow I’ve ever sledded here.

To conclude on an inspirational note, here is a glimpse at what other people have been doing here with gifts the cold has brought. Peter Z., you are a phenom! I’m inspired by the mere fact that you don’t even wince, let alone squeal or shriek. This makes me want to work up gradually too, seeing how small, daily doses of cold water exposure have given you a stress control and toughness in order to be at ease in what would normally make most of us immediately panic, and how that must undoubtedly ripple out to other areas of life. Not to mention the myriad other benefits of doing such a thing…

If you want to know more about cold therapy, click here to read about Wim Hof, an expert on the topic. Or for fun, click here to watch Bear Grylls and Terry Crews sit in a freezing river for two minutes. But don’t go diving into Cascade Lake today if you haven’t worked up to this. Peter makes it look easy because he has been consistent about it daily, long before this snowy week.

I hope you are all enjoying your outdoor adventures and indoor interests as our snow gradually melts. Have a great weekend, and what an out-of-the-ordinary boon for kids it’s been – by Sunday they will have had 1 day of school (Tuesday) and 8 days off!