We have been gifted with unseasonably warm weather through most of the month of November and into December.  It’s been so pleasant that I did my Saturday errands in with only a pom-pom beanie, sweater, and jeans, and so I stopped for Starbucks so I could be like those girls on Instagram who take pictures in front of pumpkins and green grass and write things like, “Happy Fall, y’all!”

When it was November, North Dakotans would whisper things like, “Shhhhh – I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s beautiful outside!”  And the people around them would say, “Shh, shh, don’t jinx it, but you’re right!”  Well, they didn’t jinx it; and now that we are in December, everyone has returned to their normal voices and are now split into two camps: Those who want snow on Christmas (virtually everyone), and those who do not (me).

You don’t live in North Dakota if you don’t like snow.  I like snow.  I also like the idea of a December where I’m not sliding through intersections and wearing boots up to my belt buckle to go to work.  I’m not wishing to spend the holidays in Bali (wait), but a singular December where we have snow in our hearts rather than on our trees is fine with me.  As I have reminded Kyle several times, Jesus didn’t have snow.

Speaking of Kyle, I don’t know if he’s ever expressed a feeling one way or another on the snow, but he is NOT HAPPY about the temperatures – because every day the thermometer is above 30 is one more day where he can’t flood his backyard rink.

Drive down the streets of Grand Forks and you will pass yard after yard with the skeleton of a rink.  Boards, check.  Lights, check.  Clever signage, check-y check.  But ice?  Nary a sliver to be found.  We go to McDonald’s for the french fries, not the little white bag.  Right now, the baskets are in the fryer, but the oil is still on the truck.

Without a backyard rink – or ODR, for those who wear flannel – is a dad really a dad?  Take away the garage TVs, the novelty drink koozies, the constant stream of “Hi, Bored, I’m Dad,” the grass trimmers/baggers/mowers/blowers/fertilizers/sprinklers, the battery organizers, the ability to stand on a concrete surface and nod with your hands in your pockets, and the rink, and…what’s left?  Just a guy who loves his kids?  Ugh.

Kyle put up the rink shell in November.  It took roughly two weeks; one-and-a-half weeks of telling me he was going to do it, a couple of days to drag the boards to the backyard and set them up, and a final day to nag the kids to help finish it up and then, ultimately, do the entire thing himself. 

Then, he waited.

“I’m not going to roll out the plastic until I’m ready to flood,” he told me one morning.  He was standing in his favorite spot at the dining room window, holding his favorite mug, looking out onto the rink.  I was on the couch and hadn’t asked.

“Okay,” I said.

“Because the plastic will blow all over the place,” he said.

“Oh, okay,” I said.

“Those boards may blow over if I don’t get any ice on there,” he said, taking a sip and staring at the clouds, accusatorily.

“Oh, no,” I said.

He took another sip.

“Maybe I’ll shore ’em up,” he said.

“Sure,” I said.

He ran out of time to shore ‘em up, and when we returned from Thanksgiving, a portion of the boards had blown over.

“See,” he said.

“Oh, dear,” I said.

He looked at his phone, and sighed.

“It’s not going to get cold until almost Christmas,” he said.  He looked up at me.

“That’s nice,” I said.

“Not nice for the rink,” he said.

“No, I suppose not,” I said.

The next night, Eight announced that he wanted more ice time to work on his skating.

“Too bad we don’t have the rink yet,” I said, without thinking.

Kyle frowned, and stared off into the distance.

“I mean, you’ll be able to practice once the rink is in,” I corrected, but the damage was done.

Earlier this week, Kyle came home and said,

“Guess what, so-and-so has their rink in.”

“No, they don’t,” I said.

“Yeah, they do,” Kyle said.  “Brandon saw it.”

“No, he didn’t,” I said.

“Yes, Amanda,” he said.

“No, Kyle,” I said.  “It was 40 degrees this weekend.  Water doesn’t stay frozen at 40 degrees.”

“Well, this rink was in,” Kyle said, “and Brandon saw it.”

I thought for a moment.  “Maybe he bought one of those rink systems with the cold coils in the bottom,” I said.

“No,” Kyle said, because Kyle is the type of ODR Dad who only believes in crappy pieces of wood boards and rolled out sheets of plastic and doesn’t trust “fancy” systems that “store easily” and “go together quickly” and “didn’t come out of a dumpster.”

“Okay,” I said.

If the forecast holds, the temperature high in Grand Forks on Wednesday, December 6 will be 49 degrees.  Ten days later, it’ll be 40.  I plan on wearing my little brown booties and argyle socks with a scarf and drinking coffee with my un-mittened hands.  Kyle will probably be standing in our dining room window, trying to force it to snow.  Pray for us both.

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The photo above was taken over Thanksgiving at the GLOW Holiday Festival in St. Paul. It featured a baseball field covered in a million Christmas lights, a dozen or so vendors, and two Kosior parents who were immediately ditched by their children so said kids could go down a giant slide with their grandmother.

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This week on North Dakota Today we talked about Grand Forks Central AVID students and one of Tioga’s best, Mark Longie.  Check it out, and please send me your nice stories and people for future episodes!  (Valley News Live)

West Fargo’s Delaney Rick can now add White House Decorator to her resume. (Jamestown Sun)

For nearly 39 years, the Horn of Plenty has been providing meals to families in and around Minot.  Two facts: last year, they helped 254 families; and you can only be nominated, not nominate yourself. (Minot Daily News)

Chaffee/Fargo’s Helene Sandvig is North Dakota’s SECOND-oldest person, celebrating her 112th birthday. (Fargo Forum)

Take advantage of the warm weather and head on out to Garrison for the 30th annual Dickens Village Festival! (KFYR TV)

Furniture Mission of the Red River Valley has already helped 2,000 families outfit their apartments in only three years’ time. (Fargo Forum)

November in western North Dakota was 3 degrees warmer than the 116-year average, according to the North Central Research Extension Center. (Minot Daily News)

Lewis and Clark Elementary students wrote and read letters of gratitude to the Fargo Police Department. (Fargo Forum)

Also as a reminder, Kyle and his friends, Corey and Kelly, have a podcast called North Dakota After Dark where they talk about youth hockey in North Dakota.  The latest episode is up and features a guy named The Original Burnsie, who owns a hockey card shop.  Check it out. (North Dakota After Dark)

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