Just 18 Winters

Six degrees isn’t too cold to go tubing.
People always talk about summer as the most opportune time for spending time together outside with your children. While I don’t disagree, let’s not forget about winter, especially those of us who live north of the Mason-Dixon.
Winter weather provides it own unique blend of family adventure opportunities, and nothing bonds a family better than freezing your behinds off together.
I recently took my children snow tubing. Not the labor-intensive kind where you have to walk up the hill after each ride. We experienced lazy snow tubing, where they haul you back up the hill on a rope, or better yet—moving walkway.
It was six degrees outside, and we were getting blasted with huge snowflakes in a storm that dropped over six inches of snow. With a wind-chill of negative sixteen degrees, what better time than to take a six and eight-year-old outside!
And we had a blast.
We tubed down the hill for three hours, stopping midway through to warm up with some hot chocolate. My children never complained of the cold, instead they laughed, and competed to go faster down the hill.
We were able to link tubes and slide down the hill as a family, listening to our children laugh and giggle all the way to the bottom. It was a special moment for us, one that we may never get to repeat.
Afterwards, we told each of our children how special they are to us, and how much we loved spending time with them. We also thanked them for their excellent behavior. I didn’t try to over-spiritualize the activity; Instead, I used this moldable moment to pour love into our family time by having fun, family experiences together.
It’s these relational moments that lay the groundwork for everything else I teach them about life, family, and Jesus. Next time the polar vortex hits your area, try sledding or tubing together as a family—you won’t regret it.