Winter is in full effect here in the northeastern US, so it shouldn’t have come as a shock to me when Friday’s forecast predicted snow.

Yet… despite being a native New Yorker, I still experience shock & outrage when the forecast predicts extreme temperatures and/or snow. I’ve lived here almost my entire life, yet I’m still indignant that I must suffer through all four seasons.

(Well, that’s not entirely true. I can deal with three out of four of them. Winter, not so much.)

Here’s why I loathe the snow:

1. PANIC PEOPLE

I hadn’t heard the forecast for this week’s snow, but I caught on quickly when I went food shopping Friday afternoon. The store was PACKED.

What were people rushing in hordes to buy, you ask?

Bread and Milk.

Video courtesy of hilarious comedian Vic DiBetetto (www.youtube.com)

I can’t explain then reasoning behind it, but all I know is that heavy snow requires these two items. Apparently. And people fall into a state of mild hysteria as they shop for “supplies”. I was only picking up cat food, but the aisles were so crowded that navigating one’s way through was like playing a game of Traffic.

Speaking of other people, another reason that I hate snow days is:

2. PARKING

If you’re fortunate to have you own driveway to park your car in, snow does not pose a problem for you. If you park your cars on the street, as we do… it’s a whole ‘nother story.

First of all, you invest time (and perhaps blood, sweat, & tears, depending on your type of shovel & level of fitness) digging your car out of the snow fortress that the plow trucks likely packed your car under. Once you’ve spent all of that time digging your own personal spot out, you should have the right to claim it as your own, no?

Not necessarily.

When there are only select spots dug out at various points on the street, drivers will park wherever they can find a decently snow-cleared spot… which in some cases, may be the spot YOU personally dug out.

So instead of merely parking your car in front of your house like a civilized person, snow-day parking resembles a scene out of The Hunger Games.

So the snow began to fall on Friday night, and kept falling…

     and falling…

                                  and falling…

so did the temperature. Cue reason #3…

3. COLD

Now I’ll fully admit that I’m a big ole’ baby when it comes to temperatures that fall below, say, 70 degrees. In fact, my intolerance for cold weather is one of my greatest weaknesses. Case in point:

Logically, snow is water that is cold enough to freeze, which means it’s COLD OUTSIDE. And since I don’t like to be cold, I don’t like to walk through surfaces that are also cold, as in, SNOW.

I especially hate doing so when I buy cheap boots that are supposedly waterproof, but aren’t. And the worst time to find out that you’re boots are not good at keeping out the cold stuff is when you’re standing in the cold stuff and the cold stuff is seeping into your supposedly waterproof boots.

Like this:

4. KIDS LOVE SNOW… BRIEFLY.

When I was a kid, I loved playing in the snow… briefly. Then I got cold, and went inside until I was warm. Once I was warm, I went back out, into the snow. Repeat this pattern about six times, & you have my biggest gripe about snow.

It takes a loooong time to suit a young child up in proper snow gear, (longer if they’re a toddler with the characteristic squirmy-noodle toddler inability to stand still, & the ability to need to “go potty, NOW!” the minute you’re finally done suiting them up.)

Multiply that by 5 or 6 children, and you spend the entire day suiting up kids in snow gear, peeling off snow gear, stashing snow gear back on, and stepping into the cold puddles the melted snow leaves all over your floors when they walk through the house… in their snow gear.

No matter how much time is invested in preparing kids to play in the snow, it’s inevitable that at least one will be the “revolving door” that insists on coming into the house EVERY FIVE MINUTES to:

• report that he/she has been hit by a snowball

• report that he/she has seen a sibling hit someone ELSE with a snowball

• complain that there’s too much snow

• complain that there’s not enough snow

• need help putting a glove back on

• need help putting the SAME glove back on, AGAIN

• have to go potty

• decide to come in b/c it’s too cold, until after the gear is all off, when he/she wants to go BACK outside

But despite the inconveniences, hassles, & outright annoyances, we do it because there’s something about playing in the snow that is magically childlike and wonderful (…briefly).

Like burying your sibling in sand, only 70 degrees colder.

Just after challenging his kid brother to a snowball fight, he picks up his “snowball”.

Sometimes love hurts…

…and sometimes, snowballs do, too.

He may be small, but he’s clever.. playing possum ’til big bro turned his back, and..

BOOM!

Though I’m shamelessly counting the days until summer, happy kid bonding moments like these make me glad that my kids can enjoy winter… briefly.  For about five minutes.

Then inside.

And outside, for five more minutes.

Then inside.

And outside…