A Snowy Day....

Some things in life seem almost universal, don't they.  Take for instance suiting up kids to play in the snow.  As I recall from my early childhood,  I had a green snowsuit, a two piece with pants like overalls and a jacket with a hood.  It seemed to take forever to get that contraption on, and then came - the boots!

I can't find an image of the exact ones, but they were quite similar to these.  No fur, slightly taller and made of white plastic.  You slipped them on over your shoes and then closed them by hooking an elastic band around a button on the side.  The problem with this style didn't become apparent until you stepped outside.  As soon as I would start to venture out onto my parents patio, depending on the depth of the snow, I could feel my feet becoming wet and cold as the snow would slip down into my boots.  I'm sure you can guess what my next move was.  I would hurry up the steps to the back door, begging to come back inside.  And you can imagine my mother's reaction.  Having just spent probably forty-five minutes getting three kids into all their paraphernalia, she was not inclined to simply let me back in.  What to do?

Well a few complaints to my father caused him to come up with the solution: electrical tape.

Yep, black electrical tape.  Not today's popular "go to" item of duct tape.  The man was clearly ahead of his time.

After stuffing us into our snow outfits, he would sit us in a chair, push our shoes into the boots and then wrap the tops of the boots snugly around our calves with the tape.  Not pretty, mind you, but it worked.  No more snow in our boots!  We could stay out there for hours, our feet being completely dry.

Then there were the wet soggy mittens, but that solution would have to wait for the clothing industry to solve. Thank goodness for the improvements they've made to winter gear since those earlier days.  Still, as uncomfortable as it was, a snowy day spent outside was always an adventure.

Hope today finds you remembering back, fondly, to romping in the snow.