Snow may have delayed our post-Christmas Christmas trip to Pittsburgh. But snow also made our post-Christmas Christmas visit one of the best, most magical ever.
My father lives on the side of a mountain in the South Side of Pittsburgh. If you aren't familiar with Pittsburgh than you don't know there are mountains and hills everywhere throughout the city. As well as bridges and rivers and beautiful homes and interesting neighborhoods and historic architecture. If you aren't familiar with me you don't know that I have a thing for Pittsburgh, PA.
No seriously, I love it. Pittsburgh is home base for my extended family and has been for almost 20 years. I lived there off an on for almost six years and now go back a few times a year. But okay, back to the side of the mountain.
Since my father moved into this house when JT was a year old, I have bemoaned the fact that it was all kinds of dangerous, being on the side of a mountain and all. The property sits alongside old Incline posts (think chairlift type motor car) from 40 years ago when it used to take people up the steep cliff to their homes from work millions (okay maybe not millions) of feet below. The Incline is gone and now my father's house is there. There on the side of mountain with all kinds of great views and potential for dangerous falls.
After delaying our trip one day because of the Blizzard of 2012, we arrived to some nice snow on the ground in Pittsburgh. But when we woke up the next morning what we found was magic.
A new blizzard type storm. But this blizzard was full of white fluffy flakes, friendly flakes if you will. There was no angry wind or icey wintry mix. There was only beautiful Christmas-y, magical snow covering the city like a blanket.
High up on that mountain it felt like we were right in the middle of a snow globe. I could hardly contain myself. None of us could.
All of us, kids and grown ups, bundled up and headed outside to sled, make snow men, throw snow balls, slip and slide in the powder, build snow forts with tunnels, catch snowflakes on our tongues...it was simply irresistibly joyful.
The world was our snowball that day and we got out and rolled it along. That's me attempting to incorporate lyrics from the song I couldn't stop singing that day--Marshmallow World. My family sort of thought it was cute at first, but were a little sick of it after the 150th time I sang it. But come on, days like this are a "yum, yummy day made for sweethearts!"
Maybe it was because everyone had the week off, maybe it was because it was a holiday, maybe it was because we didn't have to drive anywhere...whatever the reason, we all forgot about how annoying snow can be, we forgot how cold we were (well except for the baby Wade, he was like this is great now get me the f#&@ inside), we forgot to make a plan, we forgot to be stressed* out, we forgot about our iPads,iPods, Kindles, KindleFires, Nooks, etc.
***The being on the side of the mountain thing still stressed me out, but we played behind the house on the hill that if you fall down, you fall into Grandpa's house which is better than amillion 30-foot drop onto concrete.***
We remembered how much fun building a kick ass snow fort can be, how silly and reckless it feels to fly down the hill on a slide, we remembered the magic of being a kid.
Just in case you don't know the song Marshmallow World, here it is my friends.
Since my father moved into this house when JT was a year old, I have bemoaned the fact that it was all kinds of dangerous, being on the side of a mountain and all. The property sits alongside old Incline posts (think chairlift type motor car) from 40 years ago when it used to take people up the steep cliff to their homes from work millions (okay maybe not millions) of feet below. The Incline is gone and now my father's house is there. There on the side of mountain with all kinds of great views and potential for dangerous falls.
After delaying our trip one day because of the Blizzard of 2012, we arrived to some nice snow on the ground in Pittsburgh. But when we woke up the next morning what we found was magic.
High up on that mountain it felt like we were right in the middle of a snow globe. I could hardly contain myself. None of us could.
All of us, kids and grown ups, bundled up and headed outside to sled, make snow men, throw snow balls, slip and slide in the powder, build snow forts with tunnels, catch snowflakes on our tongues...it was simply irresistibly joyful.
The world was our snowball that day and we got out and rolled it along. That's me attempting to incorporate lyrics from the song I couldn't stop singing that day--Marshmallow World. My family sort of thought it was cute at first, but were a little sick of it after the 150th time I sang it. But come on, days like this are a "yum, yummy day made for sweethearts!"
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| My dad and his wife getting really into making the perfect snow man. Honestly, I've never been a part of building a snow man that big. Color me impressed. |
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| My brother and sister and I acting like kids. |
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| Cousin snow fort. |
***The being on the side of the mountain thing still stressed me out, but we played behind the house on the hill that if you fall down, you fall into Grandpa's house which is better than a
We remembered how much fun building a kick ass snow fort can be, how silly and reckless it feels to fly down the hill on a slide, we remembered the magic of being a kid.
Just in case you don't know the song Marshmallow World, here it is my friends.
That sounds AMAZING.
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