Stop and Make the Snow Angels

We have a new rule in our house. No snow angels without snowpants on. Mommy's actually feeling a little bad about the rule only because there's something magical about what Alanna did yesterday that resulted in the rule....

Yesterday was the first day we sent snowpants to school. I packed them in her backpack with her shoes figuring that she wouldn't need them on the way to school and instead would put them on for recess. On the way out to the car yesterday morning, Jeb put the backpack and his things in the car then turned to get Alanna and *POOF* she'd rushed off to the yard. She flopped down in the snow, began making a snow angel, THEN looked at him and asked, "Can I make a snow angel, Daddy?" When she stood up there were even little piggy tail marks in the snow on the top of the snow angel's head.

When I picked up Alanna from daycare last night, I heard another story. When the bus pulls up to Nana's house, Nana stands right at the door while Alanna goes down the driveway to the bus. Well, it started out as planned....Alanna headed down the driveway, but then diverted into the front yard. Sure enough, she PLOPPED right down into the snow backpack and all and began making a snow angel. Nana was yelling at her from the doorway to get up and the bus driver was yelling her name from the open door of the bus. She continued to obliviously make her snow angel until she determined she was finished. She got up, covered head to toe in snow and happily headed off to school.

So the new rule has been implemented primarily to get her to school on time. Although, I do think that from time to time stopping to make the snow angels is probably a good thing. After all, as parents we commit to striving to keep our child happy, healthy, safe, and smart. If plopping in the snow to make a snow angel makes her happy then that's ok with me. If it's stopping to smell the roses when the weather is warm, maybe it should be stopping to make the snow angels in the winter.