For the first time this winter, it snowed. It happened on a Friday night. We woke up on Saturday morning to a foot of snow and the children could not contain their excitement. It was therapeutic for all of us to see Gatlinburg under a white blanket of snow, after the shock of the citywide fire in November. We were snowed in, so we took advantage of a day off and just relaxed.

We love it when we get snowed in.

And so we rejoice that life goes on and snow comes and covers charred structures, grass, bushes and trees. I don’t mean to get all philosophical on you, but the children’s play in the snow conjures up more than just childhood memories these days. 

Here’s a short video of our children sledding. It was so cold, we only allowed them 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. When I say cold, I mean cold. Is 15F cold for you? It is for me. That would be -9.4C. Brrrr!

The following day, the temperature went down to -4F which translates to -20C. The snow was not melting, the kids were having fun, and I was having flashbacks to my three years spent in Sweden, when -20C happened for weeks at a time. As long as we have power, water, and the pipes don’t freeze, we can handle this. That’s all I am saying.

The incredible thing is, I hear birds. Even in this cold weather, they are out there, singing and doing their thing. By birds, I mean song birds, not crows. Of course there would be crows in winter. But bird songs? It’s lovely.

One foot of snow, at least

The other day, we saw a buck in our front yard. This was before the snow. He came back the next day and we have not seen him since. It all happened too fast for me to take a picture. Plus, the moment was just pure magic. There’s something about these wild creatures that come so close to our habitat, about 10 feet from the house.

There’s something about the encounter between us and them, not to mention how beautiful deer are to begin with. And those antlers… What does all this have to do with homeschooling? Just that it is winter and if you should happen to have snow, please know that it is OK to do less school and more playing outside if the temperature allows it.

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