Everyone who knows me know that I am obsessed with book There is No Such Thing As Bad Weather. I had an elementary school vice principal saying this in Fort McMurray when we were outside in -40C to play. And I am determined to raise my kids by the same motto.
That said… wind does change things a little. Cat and I loaded up our kids and winter gear and headed to Waterton for a simple day of playing outside and enjoying the fresh air.
I love the snow and I want my boys to grow up being stoked to get outside in the winter. But I did start to doubt our decision as we pulled into the park and the wind started to howl.
Anyone who’s been to Waterton understands that wind. It rips up Waterton Lake where the mountains serve as a nice funnel and it hits you hard. But I was determined. We pulled up next to the lake and started bundling up the kids. Cat’s kids are older and used to playing in all weather so they were playing happily. Tynan took forever to dress up and was NOT happy about it. Cat took him so I could dress Logan who cried as soon as he was out of the warm car.
We started off walking to the bridge to see the river, then headed to the lakeshore itself. I thought Ty would cheer up if he could throw rocks. The only thing on his ,mind was Fruit Loops. He would scream “Nack!” Cat would hold out a fruit loop and he would eat it off her hand like a baby bird.
Logan just cried and cried and cried. His eyelashes and snot started to freeze and I was wiping all the moisture off his face.
We found reprieve in a couple driftwood shelters visitors had made on the beach. Here we were sheltered from the wind and both the boys calmed down- a little.
After the second shelter and two bottles didn’t calm the boys, I called it. I can only take so much baby crying and clearly Logan wasn’t going to settle in like Tynan did.
When we got the kids back in the car, Logan cried for 10 minutes or so before finally falling asleep.
This is outdoor parenting. If you’re looking at amazing mountain-top photos of mama’s and their babies, just know that it was a ton of work and probably some tears to get there.
But I’m going to keep at it because I need these boys to be adventure buddies and I want them to look at crazy windy, cold days like this outside as a normal part of their childhood.
