Greetings from Irvine, California, USA!
Photo taken on Saturday, March 14, 2009.
My calendar shows that I had three consecutive days this week – Tuesday through Thursday – where I did absolutely nothing. How is that possible? Fortunately I was out all day on Friday helping a roommate with a work project. That was followed by an evening of take-out food and a board game at some friends’ house. But the very next day, Saturday, more than made up for all my inactivity.
Just two weeks after my last visit to the Great Park, I was back again but not to ice skate. Originally the Valentine’s Day weekend opening of the park’s temporary ice rink would coincide with a “Snow Day”. Unfortunately the preceding week was dominated by rainy weather and the event was moved back a month to the rink’s closing weekend instead. I could have gone by myself but it is always good to share the fun. I relayed the Snow Day info to several couples with little children and one mom was able to come with her son and daughter.
The park had three snow zones, each for a different activity – one for snowball fighting, another for snowman building and the third for sledding on a slope. My friend, her kids and I did all three. I had a sled ride with my friend’s daughter and I would strongly argue on who had more fun – her or me. My weekly photo shows the brother and sister sledding – the girl has a face of pure joy while the boy looks a tad scared but still having fun.
In addition to the snow, the event had another rink for hockey. It also had arts & crafts activities. Under some tents at one set of tables, kids cut out and decorated paper crowns. At another they made Play-Doh snowman magnets. My friend and I helped her kids with both before they all headed home. That was when my favorite moment happened. When asked to say good-bye and thank you, my friend’s son grabbed my right leg and gave it a big squeeze. It was his way of showing how much fun he had with me. Forget the sledding, snowballs and snowmen. That hug was my highlight of the week.
But that was not the last I saw of my friend and her kids that day. Her husband and she were having a get-together that night. I went and spent the evening talking, eating and playing games – namely, Rock Band and Legos. Lacking any sense of musical skills, I avoided the former and instead focused my talents on the latter – with the kids, of course. I spent a few hours playing with Legos with five-year-olds, being amused by their innocence and amazed by their imagination.
First sledding, then Legos. Don’t you wish every day was a snow day?
Angelo
