mommagreenfish

Kids are naturally optimists, I think.

How else could you explain the way a kid and an adult can look at the same thing and have such different reactions to it?

Take a field covered in ice and snow, for example.

Most adults would look at that field and see only the potential to fall, or the damage it could be doing to plants or lawn underneath.

Most kids see a glorious skating rink. Not that they need skates for this kind of rink - no, this kind of skating needs only a pair of winterboots and some soft, squashy snowpants, because the whole point of sliding on ice is to fall down.

I thought of this as my kids ran for the bus down our ice-covered driveway again today. They thought it was hilarious that they actually slid part way down, whereas I cringed and hoped they didn’t get hurt.

Later, I thought that it was the perfect example of the things kids have to teach us adults.

If you get the chance to go outside in the cold with some kids, take advantage of it as a chance to re-discover the joys of winter.

Push aside your grown-up worries about bumped elbows and shovelling out the car, and just enjoy the freedom of gliding along on your butt because you threw yourself at a pile of snow.

And when you do come inside, add extra marshmellows to the hot chocolate you make, and let them melt just enough to remind you of this wonderful season, filled with ice and snow.