What If I Start Liking Winter?

Yes, this is me.

Let's face it.  The Spousal Unit™ and I watched way, way, way too many Hallmark Holiday Movies this season.  So many, in fact, that as we scrolled through to find something to watch, we found ourselves saying, "Oh, I saw that one already."  Once, the Dan-o said that about one I hadn't seen.  I know, pretty pathetic, or, as our President might say, "Sad."

Anyhow, they have an insidious way of creeping into your subconscious.  At an unnamed point this December, I found myself thinking how lovely it would be to engage in the activities that are hallmarks of the Hallmark Holiday Movies.  

Going to the Annual Christmas Festival and Tree Lighting and Choral Concert and whatever else falls into that category.  Finding the BEST TREE EVER at the tree lot (even though my home is bedecked with 6 artifical trees). Decorating same with lights and garlands and stringing popcorn and perhaps even playfully tossing the popcorn at each other in an indoor version of a snowball fight (Hallmark Movies, I've noticed, have either the popcorn OR snowball fight, not both).  Ensuring every doorway is strewn with evergreens and tiny twinkle lights, adorned with red velvet bows.  Strolling through the gently falling snow on Christmas Eve.  And ice skating on the community outdoor rink, followed by a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

Did I miss anything?

The ice skating is what really got to me.  Now I haven't been on ice skates since college when I took ice skating as part of my PE requirement--at least I think not.  But it just looked so ridiculously festive and I found myself thinking I should add this into the holiday traditions.  My son-in-law Darin loves to skate and play pick up hockey on the local rinks. (There are probably nearly as many neighborhood rinks as lakes in Minnesota.)  He wanted to get his daughter, Sloane, onto skates.  My oldest granddaughter, Millie, got a new pair of skates for her birthday.

And then this popped up on Facebook:  Free Disco Skate at the ROC, which is the new covered outdoor skating rink at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center.

I mean, come on.  Why not?

Why not?  Because it was OUTDOORS in the WINTER and that meant it was going to be COLD.  Even the local purveyor of my absolute and only favorite coffee drink, the Fa La Latte, Caribou Coffee, recognizes that it's cold.  They were selling this shirt this season (and yes, I purchased it).

I wore this on the day we went ice skating.

Truly, I don't hate winter.  Clearly, it is not my favorite season.  But there is just something so romantically lovely about softly falling snow and the accompanying quiet.  One Christmas Day, an unexpected snowfall of over 6" filled our backyard, which I watched from the cozy comfort of my home, in front of a roaring fire.   I briefly considered going out for that Hallmark Movie Moment to take a walk, until I remembered--it's COLD.  That's why there are flakes of snow rather than drops of rain.  

The Hallmark Channel's influence catapulted me out of my comfort zone onto the skating rink.  Outdoors.  In the winter.  Where it would be cold.  For more than the time it takes to get in and out of the car, and back into the safety of the warmth again.

Once we arrived at the Rec Center, I started to get just a little nervous about the physical act of skating.  What if I couldn't maintain my balance?  What if I fell?  Was this a prudent course of action for a 66 year old who hadn't been on skates since the early '70s?

You know what overrode all those qualms, don't you?  Seeing those darling granddaughters on their skates, reaching for my hand because they wanted me to skate with them (or, in Sloane's case, help keep her upright with her dad).

Darin, Sloane, Moi

Be still my heart.

Over the years, when I've expressed my disinterest in winter, various friends have encouraged me not to give up on the season.  "You just have to keep moving," they advised.

They were right.  I took their advice to heart.  We had a great time skating and although we didn't have a hot chocolate afterward, I did feel as if I was in a Hallmark Movie.

A new tradition is born!  We're probably going again on New Year's Eve, if not before then.  If we ever get any snow (interesting for MinneSNOWta to be basically snowless this time of year), I'm going to trot myself over to a local park and cross country ski, an activity I haven't engaged in for over 15 years.  And since I'm in the habit of mulling, I am mulling going downhill skiing as well.  Somewhere along the line I need to purchase a pair of water proof pants because sooner or later, gravity will win (it always does, according to my friend Bill Smith), and I'll hit the ground.  

I'll hit the ground with a smile on my face and a sense of satisfaction often found in Hallmark Movies when everything turns out just right.