Snowy village at Christmas

A Hazy Shade of Winter

I wouldn’t be British if I didn’t take a moment to record the fact that we’ve had a bit of snow here this week, so here you go: please accept these photos of our walk home from school a few days ago…

Christmas bauble in the snowdoing the school run in the snowseason's Greetings It was less idyllic than it looks, to be honest – mostly because my fingers were so cold, even in my gloves, that I was worried they were going to come off with the gloves themselves, but also because, in my experience, snow is always better in theory than it is in practice: even small amounts of it, like this.

(And also because Max likes to take the school run as an opportunity to have some of his more awkward conversations: like when he asked me who the “Grand old chooking York” was, say. Or this morning, when he regaled Terry with the news that someone has been pooping in the “cubicles” at school. We are led to believe that the “cubicles” in question are NOT toilet cubicles, so this is obviously most unfortunate /fascinating news, depending on who you’re speaking to.)

(Update: it seems a suspect has now been identified, but Max won’t tell us who it is, as it’s a secret. It’s the biggest scandal to hit the village since that one time someone was offered salad cream in the corner shop, let me tell you.)

snowy ground and sunset sky

Anyway, I was talking about the snow, and how underwhelming it is to me as an adult: a bit like meeting someone beautiful then finding out that’s literally all they have to offer.

Beauty is literally all that snow has to offer. Beauty and… well, inconvenience, really. The hats and gloves huddled on the radiator. The mountain of wet coats and boots in the hall. The blanket of snow on the velux windows that makes it feel like nighttime even in the middle of the day. The feeling that normal service is suspended, whether you want it to be or not. Honestly, I’m not a fan.

snowy cottage

But this boy is, though:

snowy Christmas walk

For him, the snow is still every bit as magical as it looks in these photos. He won’t always feel like that, of course (Especially not if he takes after me in this respect), but for now I’m leaving these photos here so he can one day look back and remember a random December afternoon when we walked home from school in the first snowfall of the year. Sometimes I think these are the things that make the most important memories…

doing the school run in the snow

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COMMENTS
  • Brenda

    REPLY

    Living in Canada, I completely agree that while pretty, snow doesn’t really have much to offer. My former-farmer husband would point out that the moisture it offers is a pretty big deal so I guess there’s that. The funniest thing though, my son absolutely cannot stand the sound of snow squeaking underneath his feet when he walks. It is like nails on a chalkboard for him. I am thinking he might want to consider finding a profession in a location where there is no snow at all, considering we have to walk outside in the snow, 6 to 8 months out of a year!

    December 15, 2022
  • Erin

    REPLY

    Oh man, nothing better than snow when you’re a little kid. Probably because you don’t have to clean up the messy house/snow gear and you get to make snow angels/men/caves/etc, drink hot cocoa, and snuggle in after playing outside.

    December 16, 2022
  • Carla W.

    REPLY

    Aww…. I’m a fan! But I like winter sports.

    December 18, 2022
  • Lusa

    REPLY

    The pictures are just beautiful!

    There is no snow where I live, so I like the ideia of a magical white blanket covering everything ☺️ although I’m sure I’d hate it for the same reasons if it actually snowed. Plus, given that most houses don’t have heating and are poorly insulated, everyone would probably freeze… 🙄

    So, Snow, you are beautiful, but an inconvenience.

    January 4, 2023
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