I have lived in North Carolina for thirty-three years. While I can remember some NC winters with heavy snow, and even heavier ice, the winter storm that blew through the Carolinas last weekend was one I won't soon forget.

In typical NC winter weather fashion, a snowstorm was predicted, and our area of the NC Piedmont was put into the 3-5 inches of snow range. Keep in mind that 3-5 inches of snow for this region is a lot of snow. As Thursday and Friday of last week wore on, the snow totals kept increasing. When I went to bed on Friday night, we had been bumped up to the 6-8 inches of snow range. Wow! That was a lot... and just enough to give NC families big hopes and dreams of a true snow day.

Imagine our delight when we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow on Saturday morning. We cozied ourselves in our home and watched in awe as it kept snowing, and snowing, and snowing. The snow began sometime after midnight on Saturday, and didn't stop for nearly twenty-four hours! In total, we wound up with 16 inches of snow at our house!

When we ventured outside for some sledding on Sunday, the snow was up past my knees! This has been the most snow my children have ever seen. We have played outside, gone sledding, had hot cocoa, and baked our hearts out. We've made Pastina, soup, and chili, and have curled up in blankets to read or watch movies. We've managed days that have reminded us of Covid times- being holed up together at home with remote school work, and grown-up work. We've cleaned out rooms, organized spaces, painted hallways, designed rooms in our house for upcoming projects, and so much more!

Who knew we could accomplish so much with all five of us home at one time!

While I have enjoyed these six weekdays of not having to set alarms, and have loved having everyone home, I will definitely be looking forward to everyone going back to their regular routines and schedules. Our roads were plowed yesterday, which compacted the snow on top of ice that was already there from a previous ice storm. Needless to say, we won't be going anywhere for a couple of days, yet... and the kids might not make it back to school at all this week.

It's been beautiful to see the winter weather. To be home with my family like this has been a gift. It's so nice to slow down, disconnect, and just 'be'. Now I'm wondering if it'll be another 20+ years before I see snow like this again.