Let it snow, let it snow...

Fluffy, pillowy,
Wet and snowy
Soft, blowy,
White and showy.

Last night, my husband and I threw open our bedroom window to gaze in wonder at our first snow of this winter. (There are no screens on the windows in all of Sweden, maybe its a European thing?) It was such a peaceful sight, romantic even. Snow is so pure and fresh. It seems to cleanse the earth of summer, blanketing every surface with its gentle but frigid dust. Snowflakes falling from the sky, the chill of the air, and the dark sky make it known that winter has indeed arrived.

We celebrated by taking the morning off from our studies and playing in the snow. How wonderful it must be to see the world through a child's eyes. I saw my boys light up, smile and laugh, and throw all of their beings into rejoicing over the snow. What could be more satisfying than hurling your little boy-self into the depths of a knee-deep snow drift? Or rolling a lump of snow around the yard until its bigger than you are? Or throwing snowballs and making snow forts? Yes, its hard to imagine a winter without it now.


STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
~Robert Frost

The boys and I are spending the week with Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken." They have copied it into their portfolios and we have read it several times, taking time to talk about its meaning, and to visualize the beauty of the yellow wood, the undergrowth, the leaves, the grassy path. We have pondered its meaning for our family, as we have taken the road less traveled by, and how it has made a difference. My boys are not at all excited about poetry, but I hope to kindle a few small sparks of interest! I am eagerly waiting for two books to arrive: A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, and A Child's Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll. I first saw A Child's Intro. to Poetry at the Nobel Museum's gift shop a couple weeks ago. I really wanted to buy it then and there, but I knew I could find it much cheaper online.

Wait, wait, I hate to wait.
Wait, wait, to get a good rate.

(Hee hee hee...)

Rejoice!
Marla