Family Art

This weekend, the seasons changed. I have loved our warm weather days - the biking and hiking and river sloshing. I could do that stuff forever. And parenting is so much... smoother in the summer, with all the fresh air and running around outside.

But still, a part of me looks forward to the cold weather. Here are a few reasons why:

• There's not so much conflict about what to do. Without the pull of summer sunshine, the choices are a little more limited, so it's easier to just sit around, read, eat.
• I like winter cooking - making soups, breads, hot chocolate.
• The shorter days means it's a lot easier to get everyone to bed, maybe even with time enough for a movie after.
• We light more candles, have fires, wear slippers, drink tea, cuddle up in blankets.
• The weather pulls us together. We stay closer to each other. Maybe even talk a little more. Read more. Play games. Do puzzles.
• I love winter outdoor activity - skiing, hiking, sledding, ice skating. But honestly, I don't get my hopes up too much. For one, I have to gear myself up for the winter layers on the kids. And often in the divide and conquer parenting, I get the young ones, i.e. those who aren't quite up for serious winter activity.
• Finally, I get to imagine that I'll actually finish, ok begin, all the sedentary projects I think about doing all the time.

All that said, today we resumed a cold weather ritual that I love: family art time. The girls both focused on color and hearts. Will worked in his art journal, which is filled with black and white sketches and designs. I cut vegetables for soup (that's art, right?) and drew things I hope to sew some day. And Jeff nursed his soccer injury and helped June. John slept, thus family art time.

I know that I'll long for summer days, starting easily in January. But for now, I am anticipating the old pleasures that the new season brings.