One of the reasons why the Southern California real estate is perpetually strong is due to our superior weather conditions. I read that January in particular is a popular month to move to our fair city thanks to the glorious sunshine that always seems to be on full display during the Tournament of Roses Parade held on January 1. With the rest of the country shoveling snow or fending off freeze, who wouldn’t want to move to Los Angeles with that kind of free advertising?
But the downside to living in a city with ideal weather is: your children start to resent it a bit and ask to experience what other children in other parts of the country seem to enjoy: snow. My youngest actually thought snow was just a myth and didn’t really exist. If it were up to my wife, she probably would’ve let him continue to believe that was the case just to avoid leaving the sunshine even for a brief period of time. A snow bunny, she is not! So, clearly it would have to be up to me to prove to my boys that yes, snow was a real, true thing that didn’t just exist on TV.
I am a native Californian and was raised skiing the slopes of Mammoth and Big Bear. How lucky are we to experience both sunshine and snow in the same day? And to be able to drive just a short distance to get there? Skiing is more about advanced preparation, though. Since we haven’t done it with our boys yet, we felt it would be a little bit easier to try sledding instead. There’s so much less equipment to deal with- and once you start with a ski trip, you’ve also got to figure on ski school, lift tickets, renting all the clothes and boots and, of course, skis. Since my wife already made it clear that if skiing was on the agenda, she’s be waving to me from an armchair by the fireplace of a cozy lodge, firmly clutching her mug of hot cocoa- I decided that prepping three kids (and myself) solo for the slopes was taking on an advanced level of parenting I didn’t have the energy for.
Sledding seemed to be a good compromise that my wife could be on board with. So, tomorrow we will set off to find some patches of snow, maybe with a safe, tree-less slope, and give our three California boys the thrill of a (winter) lifetime. If only to prove that yes, snow is a real thing.
Here’s hoping this is the beginning of a fun, new tradition without permanent repercussions of the boys wanting to move somewhere cold year-round. I’m sticking to the old adage and hoping they are, too: it’s nice to visit but we wouldn’t want to live there.
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