#SOL21 Winters Present and Past

Winter 2021: We have no snow pants, apparently. No sled or snow tube or anything of that nature. In her pajamas, Megan took Teddy out to frolic in the deep snow. It was a sight. An almost 5 month old puppy experiencing snow for the first time. I took a minute to think about how I never would have predicted this moment last winter. I never would have thought we would have gotten a puppy, but a season of quarantining can really change a person. 

Winter 2020:  Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour with one of my best friends- We rode to Brooklyn on the Long Island Rail Road and sat in the packed Barclay Center. The whole day was so inspiring and memorable. I think back now to how crowded it all was- how many people we were surrounded with. It feels like a different life in our current mask-wearing, socially distant state. 

Winter 2018: Reeling. My son was badly injured by a dog while on a playdate. Multiple surgeries. Doctor's appointments. Such sadness, fear, anger. Hard to even write about it, still. 

Winter 2016: My sister's 40th birthday. We took a limo to NYC, my mom, my sister and I. We saw the musical "Beautiful" which featured all the music of Carole King and her life story. We went out to dinner. I remember talking a bit about the upcoming presidential election. We had mimosas and appetizers in the limo and it was such a fun mother-daughters day. 

Winter 2014- My sister and I took our sons out to lunch and then I think we went to see Frozen in the movies together. The boys were so cute and it was so fun to do a sisters and son date. My mom watched my daughter, who was less than a year. 

Winter 2013- Putting the finishing touches on Megan's room as we counted the days until she arrived. 

I think about the winters when my son was a baby and I took him to Music Together classes, where he slept in my arms as all the other children danced around with colorful scarves (2011).

I think about the winter I got engaged at the View in Manhattan after seeing The Lion King on Broadway. We took a carriage ride around Central Park (it was freezing) and then a limo met us and took us to South Street Seaport. Magical, unforgettable night. (2007)

I think about the winter where it was so cold that the pavement was a sheet of grass. I could barely walk across the lawn to get to my car after tutoring a little boy in my neighborhood (circa 1996?).

I think about the winter, in snow pants and gloves, trying to catch snow on my tongue and waddling around the backyard (1984).

I think about the winter.