Snowy Mornings and Snow Dogs ❄️🐾
I woke up to 4.5 inches of fresh snow this week and I was out the door with a shovel before the coffee was even ready.
I know, I know. But I genuinely love shoveling. There's something about being the first one out in a quiet neighborhood, everything blanketed and still, just you and the scrape of the shovel against the sidewalk. Our neighborhood looked like a snow globe. The trees were loaded. The houses had these perfect little caps of white on every surface. Even the garden fence (currently protecting exactly zero growing things) looked beautiful under all that snow.
The "help" arrives
Of course, "just me" lasts about 30 seconds at our house.
Kona comes barreling out the back door with a ball in her mouth. She drops it at my feet and then stares at it with the intensity of someone defusing a bomb. This is her whole thing. You can bury her in a snow pile, pile it on until she's basically a snowdog sculpture, and she will not break eye contact with that ball. We call it the "bury the puppy" game and she tolerates it entirely because it means someone is near the ball and might, at any moment, throw it. She came inside looking like she'd been dipped in powdered sugar.
Salsa takes a more supervisory approach. She puts on her plaid coat (yes, she has a plaid coat, and yes, it's adorable), trots out like she owns the yard, and then just... watches. And eats snow. Mouthful after mouthful, like it's some kind of frozen delicacy she's been waiting all year for. She watches Kona's chaos unfold from a safe distance and occasionally chomps another bite. Very dignified. Very Salsa.
Timmy, for the record, measured the snowfall. With an actual ruler. Because that's the kind of household this is. 📏
The part where my brain does the thing
I was shoveling and watching the two of them and my brain did what it always does lately.
I pictured a little kid out here with us.
Snow boots that are slightly too big. A hat pulled down so far it's basically covering their eyes. Trying to "help" with the shovel and mostly just moving snow from one pile to another pile three feet away. Kona would absolutely lose her mind having another person to bring the ball to. Salsa would appoint herself head of security for the whole operation, stationed at a safe distance, ready to share her snow-chomping expertise with anyone interested.
I can see it so clearly. The laughing. The cold red cheeks. The wet mittens that need to come off after ten minutes. Coming inside for hot chocolate and peeling off snow pants in the entryway while the dogs shake snow everywhere.
This is it
If you're reading this and you're thinking about what life could look like for your child, I want you to know: this is it.
It's not complicated. It's snowy mornings and dog chaos and hot chocolate after. It's a neighborhood full of kids and a backyard that turns into a whole world when there's four inches of fresh snow on it. It's two dads who will shovel the driveway and then immediately go build a snow fort, because what's the point otherwise?
We have so much love and so much life to share with a child. And we'd love to share it with you, too. 🧡
Tucker and Timmy are a Minneapolis couple hoping to grow their family through open adoption. If you or someone you know is considering an adoption plan, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about us at tuckerandtimmyadopt.com or reach out anytime at (612) 361-7899. We believe in open, honest relationships and would love the chance to connect.