After summer, comes cooler weather, and after the cooler weather comes: snow. As adults, we find snow inconvenient and disruptive. It’s not just cold, wet, and miserable outside—a snowstorm can throw a wrench in our entire routine and make one or more days difficult to get through.
Snow means that we have to rush to the grocery store, along with everyone else, for necessities like milk, eggs, and toilet paper. Most people know that braving the market the day before a storm can be a frustrating, crowded, and harrowing experience. But, it’s a necessary evil.
When the snow arrives, the roads are slick, and travel is treacherous. It’s difficult to get to work, and the kids are home from school. Deep snow means endless shoveling and cleaning your vehicles. A massive snowstorm or blizzard may be more than just inconvenient; it can be downright dangerous.
As adults, we recognize all of the difficulties that go along with a snowstorm, but we often forget how we felt about the snow when we were kids. Snowstorms meant a bonus day off school, sledding on the big hill, and playing outside for hours. It was wonder and magic. After a day of play, we could come in, exhausted from the fun and the cold, and drink hot chocolate while our gloves and socks dried near the woodstove.
The Giant Panda in the video below understands the childlike wonder that comes along with a snowstorm. Keepers at the Toronto Zoo decided to build Da Moa a snowman, and he was delighted. He played with his new “friend,” eventually dismantling it and rolling around on the enormous snowballs left behind. He’s having so much fun and reminds us to stop and have fun sometimes too. It’s easy to get caught up in the complexities of life, so much so that taking the extra moment to smell the flowers or play with snow (in this case) might just be what we need to enjoy life more while on the run.
Watching him play reminds me that sometimes when things seem inconvenient, it’s the perfect time to step back and inject a little sparkle into the everyday. Spread the smiles and watch the totally unadulterated fun video!
