On the very first day of the year, I wanted to take the family on a hike. Last time we were up at Mantua, I thought it would be a lot of fun to walk all the way across the frozen lake. I suggested this to the boys, and they were actually enthusiastic. Peter never wants to go hiking, and he thought it sounded fun. So, off we went.

It was a bit snowy, but we weren’t too concerned. It is only a half-mile across the lake, and the journey out there was rather fun. We made it across no problem.

Then the snow started to pick up. And we had to hike back into the wind, instead of having the wind at our backs. What started out quite pleasant turned into what felt like a course in winter survival. We were pelted with snow and could no longer see across to the other side of the lake.

There were no other options, so we started the miserable walk back. Because we couldn’t see very well, we were often going the wrong way and had to correct course, forming a zig-zag back instead of a straight line. I was so proud of the children for not complaining and just putting down their heads and hiking. (Zack slept through the whole thing. He was very bundled next to Mom.)

We made it back a bit soggily. The kids went down a hill sledding, and then we went home and had hot chocolate. And in all actuality, the whole hike only took an hour. A very memorable hour.