The holiday season might be quickly coming to a close but snow season is just about to begin!

So what’s a busy adult (read: not overly excited five year old) to do? Why these five things, of course:

1. Shovel.

My husband leaves for work no later than 8:30 a.m. We have a two-year-old who goes to Montessori school two mornings a week and she and I regularly hit the yoga studio’s early classes. Meaning, I understand the need to clear the driveway in a hurry.

Still, my hubby has been pulling out the shovel rather than the snow blower. Sure, it means he doesn’t have enough time to cycle before work, but he said his lungs feel great after shoveling—and I could see the invigoration of getting outdoors and achieving a practical accomplishment before work.

 2. Get outside for 10 minutes.

Our Ohio town was turned into a winter wonderland last week after several inches of snow fell. I was mainly concerned about my man getting home safely from work, but you know what he was focused on? Driving—slowly and cautiously, mind you—a little bit out of his way to hit Toys ‘R’ Us in order to bring home a sled for our daughter.

Now, I couldn’t even find all of my Christmas decorations in the boxes we have yet to unpack from our move a few months ago, much less locate old snow boots and appropriate cold-weather attire.

However, when I looked out our picture window at my family happily playing, I hastily threw on tennis shoes, a coat and hat and ran out the door. We’re all sick and it was pretty darn cold, so we only stayed out with our toddler for a matter of minutes—and it was worth every second.

Point: don’t feel you have to commit to hours of snow play to make bundling up worth it or that you even have to own amazing gear to bundle up in. Just get outside with your kids and make memories—for all of you.

3. Drive safely.

The morning of all this first snowfall, my little girl and I were running errands. I was going about 42 mph on a 45 mph curvy, country-ish road frequented by deer when I was obnoxiously passed by a car easily going 70. (FYI: Speed limit means that’s the maximum speed and when conditions are poor, this limit isn’t meant to be necessarily even met much less exceeded.)

I’ve been a no-more-than-five-miles-per-hour-over-the-speed-limit driver since I was a teenager and honestly can’t relate to this total lack of safety, especially with children in the car. My husband and I have a running joke that people get their “jollies” by speeding, because they eat crappy food and sit around all day and have no physical outlet for their energy, so they get said “jollies” by being irrationally-charged drivers rather than getting off their lazy butts and getting out into the snow to, say, shovel or play with their kids.

Just saying.

Get your jollies in a way that doesn’t risk my life. Thank you.

4. Ski.

Cross country ski!

I was raised in a cross-country skiing family, but I wasn’t sure people even did this anymore. If you read my past elephant blogs, you’ll see me mention my on-going Nordic Track obsession, so imagine my pleasant surprise when I went to the local outdoor outfitters shop for warm socks for my daughter and ran into skiers, literally by the carloads, stocking up on their cross-country needs.

Considering that I’m a mom and I never seem to have enough time with my man, and neither of them ski, so I can’t guarantee that I’ll be spending countless hours heading to even a nearby park, but I can promise that my neighbors will be seeing me out in my yard on a regular basis.

Again, just getting outside for any amount of time is good for you—body, soul and mood.

5. Be courteous.

Okay, so maybe my last tip should have been to make a snowman or a snow angel, but I’m going a different route.

Perhaps you have an elderly neighbor who has trouble wielding a snow blower much less a shovel—or maybe you had a bad day at work and want to get your jollies by speeding home on a treacherous road, regardless of the safety of that silver Jetta carrying a darling miniature lady ahead of you.

Please be a kind human being and help people out when you can.

Whether that means shoveling the sidewalk a little bit further down than just your house, or being just a little bit more cautious when you drive.

There’s no better time for old-fashioned fun than a fresh snow season! So, stay warm; stay safe—and remember that we all have an excited five-year-old inside of us ready to get out and play in the snow!

~

Ed: Bryonie Wise

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