a year of stories - ice - 6 of 52 / by Carey Pace

*This post is part of a collaborative project - a year of stories shared by a group of 15 photographers every Monday in 2016.  Please visit Laura Mood after you read this post to continue the circle.*


Of all the adjectives one could use to describe me, spontaneous wouldn't be one of them.  That being said, it isn't because spontaneity isn't something I value.  I value it highly and I do try to incorporate a lot of flexibility into our lives, even when it goes against my initial instincts. 

January 20th was a Wednesday.  When I left that afternoon to pick the kids up from school I glanced toward the neighborhood pond and noticed it appeared frozen.  Living where we do, seeing actual frozen ponds or lakes isn't a common occurrence.  On our way back home, I decided to be Spontaneous Mom and pull over at the pond.  It was freezing cold.  We didn't have any hats or gloves with us.  We were wearing our nice school shoes.  We needed to do homework.  And piano practice.  And cook dinner.  And... and.... and... But we ventured down to the edge anyway to inspect whether it was actually ice.

Indeed it was! 

The kids were absolutely amazed.  After a few moments I realized I needed to document this occasion. We left and returned quickly with winter gear (which afforded us a little bit of time before the Lady just got too cold) and my camera.  They had so much fun beating on the edges of the pond with sticks to break apart large sheets of ice.  And then the Boy was beside himself throwing the sheets as far as he could to hear them bust into a million pieces. 

It was worth having to scrub all the goose poop out of their and my shoe treads.  It was worth scrambling to get dinner made on time.  It was worth the lack of focus during piano and homework to be spontaneous and just have FUN together.  I hope it was an afternoon they always remember. 


(click on any image below to view it larger)

We were back home for about an hour when we opened the front door to find that the snow from Winter Storm Jonas had finally arrived in south central Virginia.  Next we'll I'll probably share some of our Jonas adventures for my story. 


*This post is part of a collaborative project - a year of stories shared by a group of 15 photographers every Monday in 2016.  Please visit Laura Mood after you read this post to continue the circle.*