In the South, when everyone hears the word “snow,” chaos ensues. The grocery stores are raided in hours. Milk, bread, and eggs fly off the shelves instantly. If you wait until the last minute you are out of luck and will be forced to scrape by with whatever leftover scraps you can find. Southern mommas race to purchase snowsuits, gloves, and hats for the two hours their children will play in the snow. (I can kid because my mother was one of the parents who went to TJ Maxx to ensure Maddox had a brand new snowsuit for her snow playing experiences.) Cars are filled with gas, fire logs are turned on, extra heaters are bought, generators purchased, and garages are cleared in order to keep outdoor animals warm in preparation for the large amounts of snow that will fall from the sky. (My mother is a hoarder or “packrat” as she likes to call it so we spent hours making sure there was enough space in the garage for our sweet fur baby.) Snow cream recipes are posted on Pinterest and Facebook while visions of Snow Fairies dance in each and every head.

The morning the snow is supposed to arrive I wake up and run to the window like I am a small child excited to see the white blanket I expect to be covering the ground. Instead, I race to the window to find rain, rain, and more rain. The rain is paired with ice and the outside just looks dreadful. However, I am determined the snow will fall and I glide down the steps (okay…more like stumble down the steps because we all know I am clumsy) to the smell of sausage, cinnamon rolls, and coffee. Throughout the day I occupy my time by watching Netflix and “catnaps.” I was so bored at one point I decided to vacuum, which I do not do at all. One can tell this by the fact that I sucked up something in the vacuum and it is currently broken…yes my mother is thrilled.

The rain changes into snow dustings by lunch but nothing seems to be sticking. Maddox is complaining of being stuck inside and not being able to make snow angels. After her nap, we decide to embrace the ice/snow and venture outside. We bundle ourselves up. I do have to say that Maddox did look adorable in her new snow bibs and matching jacket that she only wore for 45 minutes max, yet mom told dad that she got the entire outfit 75% off plus a coupon so technically it was free, but we know that is far from the truth and was said simply to appease his mind. Yet as soon as we step outside, our eyes begin watering due to the brutal cold. Maddox immediately begins crying saying she HATES the snow and wants to go in, so we try to quickly snap a picture and march ourselves back inside. We have not even been in five minutes before she starts saying, “Let’s go ride the gator.” Malone and I instantly begin shooting that idea down, but momma pipes in and goes, “Sure, the girls would LOVE to take you on the gator.” Would we Megan? Would we really like to ride her around in the freezing cold with no snow to even see? Yeah I don’t think so, but we found ourselves riding on the gator anyway. The thirty-minute gator ride was miserable, but Maddox refused to go inside. We had pumped her up for days about the ground being covered in a white blanket type of snow, however she didn’t even get to experience a dusting. Her little mind could not fathom why she could not make a snowman or snow angel. Moral of the story: never tell a three-year-old snow is a possibility because if it doesn’t happen you are in for a miserable time.

Though the first expected snowstorm of 2017 was a total bust, it was nice to be trapped inside with good food and lots of hot chocolate. Though I expected to be sledding throughout Shallow Walk for hours on end with my family, this storm had other plans. Hope everyone stayed warm and safe during this snow letdown. Here is to hoping many more snow blizzards come our way. Perhaps one of them will bring more than an inch of snow.