here and now

And finally, she is here. The snowsuits are officially done and I'll be building a big bonfire. The snow pants' knees cannot be patched one more time, the coats are grubby beyond the point that any laundry magic can clean them, and the boots and mitts have that weird stinky sweat smell that only winter clothes can have.

So, we stopped at our local shoe store and got new rubber boots and some splash pants. I dug into a bin I'd set aside and was delighted to find a tiny pair of pink rubbers for Norah. She was even more delighted than me and eagerly stepped in cold puddles for the first time. Then she fell face first into the icy, slushy, muddy water. She wasn't so delighted about that. But her big brother (in his cool $2 hat) swept her out of the puddle and back inside for dinner.

I am so loving these long days of warm sunlight and the promise that all this melting snow holds. I also love that big stack of wood and the promise of next winter's warmth. But I won't dwell on that right now when there are puddles to be splashed in!