Winter had come to the Northwest.

Seattle spent a couple of weeks as the epicenter for cold winds and weather that I haven’t seen in years. This was the kind of stuff that I thought I left behind in New York ten years ago. Schools closed, roads were treacherous, and my girlfriend and I found ourselves with a couple of unexpected snow days. However, not being at work didn’t mean we lacked stuff to do, so we made it a point to pass the day responsibly.

We failed. Miserably.

Unable to get anywhere useful, and quickly suffering from cabin fever, we ventured into the expansive greenspace on our apartment complex grounds and played in the snow. I built my first ever snowman.

You see, that never happened in the ‘hood back in the day because (a), by the time we got snow in the necessary amounts to do that, I was on winter break in college (blizzard of ’96. Fun times.); and (b), generally, I despise snow and cold. Seriously. I don’t winter.

That said, I had a blast using trees and signs as snowball target practice, skipping ice on the surface of the pool, or taking over the snow fort left behind from some kids’ earlier snow war.

Later, we got some wood for the fireplace and relaxed with coffee and hot cocoa.

If 20 years ago, you told me that a Brooklyn-born child of Jamaican parents—whose childhood home NEVER dipped below 85⁰--would willingly spend a frigid and snowy Monday in February, I would have politely called you a f***in’ liar. Snow is only good for wreaking havoc on mass transit and messing with your commute. And let’s not be mistaken, those things happened, too. But there I was, playing in the backyard snow like some suburban kid, and capping the day with hot cocoa by the fire.

Not bad for a kid from Flatbush.

#2019 #snow #winter #fun #frozen #dayoff #author