It took me 15 years to really enjoy snow

I made my first snowman two years ago. I'm not kidding.

Do you remember when you made your first snowman? I do. It was two years ago. And I didn’t even contribute much to the making of it because I had no idea what I was doing (it’s actually a lot harder than it looks). I took photos of my then toddlers making their first snowman with their dad. It was a precious moment, one of many firsts you have the privilege to witness as a parent. The funny thing though is that it was a first for me, too. I’ve lived in Canada for 17 years and that was my first snowman.

Kids first snowman, 2020

It’s an odd concept to think about: I’ve lived more than half my life here. In Canada? Really? I turn it over in my head often because a part of me still sees myself as the girl who grew up in the desert, walked to school in blistering heat and spent her winters reading on the beach.

That means I’ve spent most of my life avoiding cold Canadian winters. I wasn’t signing up to learn how to ski or snowboard. You wouldn’t have seen me on a skating rink in uptown Waterloo. If you spotted me walking across Laurier’s campus between 2005 and 2009 I probably looked like a strange, underdressed but colourful blur trying to hurry from one warm building to another. My idea of enjoying the winter is sitting on a comfy couch indoors draped in a blanket with a hot beverage in hand. I hate the cold.

Me in 2009 headed to the Laurier library on a very cold day. I scowled at my roommate and she took this photo. Apparently I thought this was an appropriate way to dress in the winter. I was also going through a neon phase.

When you miss out on a childhood of snowy wonder, you miss out on the magic of winter. Now as a parent, I have to like the cold to save face in front of my snow-loving children, of course. I have done things I never would have imagined 10 years ago: Volunteered to go on a winter hike, bought myself snow pants so I cam romp in knee-deep snow with my kids, say things like: “Wow, snow is so fun!”

So here’s the thing. Even though I still hate the cold and complain about it every chance I get, I do enjoy watching my children revel in the pure joy of a perfect snowy day. Their sheer happiness inspires me; it reminds me of how truly beautiful a snowy day can be, how satisfying it is to walk through fresh, untouched snow and feel snowflakes land softly on your face.

I still haven’t experienced sledding (too scary) or ice skating - except for that one time I went to Betsy’s birthday party at an indoor skating rink when we were 9 or 10. My only real memory of that party is of eating pizza. We did rent snowshoes last winter and that was pretty cool.

There are many more first my kids, 4 and 5, still have to experience, and I’m going to stick along for the ride because I bet many of them will be firsts for me, too.

The snow is falling as I write this so I’m staying inside today… I think. We’ll see.