Let It Snow!

Today is the first “forecasted” day for snow this winter. Actually, it’s not winter yet, but you know what I mean. I love snow. Always have, always will. Sadly, I live in an area where we get more forecasts for snow than actual snow. Earlier in the week, we were planning for 2-4” of snow. The forecast has been revised so many times, now we’re only expecting a “dusting – 1 inch.” Never listen to the weatherman when he says a week out there will be snow. They’re all liars.

As a kid, there was always hope beyond hope that when the weatherman said we were going to get snow, he’d actually be right. I never got “snow days” from school, but that was beside the point. I just wanted the snow. We’d bundle up in our camo coveralls (we were country folk, remember), Napoleon Dynamite-esque snow boots, hats, gloves…the whole works. I could stay out in the snow for what seemed like forever. I’m sure it seemed like three seconds to Mom, who had to help us get in and out of our extra clothes, boots, etc. And after we came in, we got piping hot (or at least warm) mugs of homemade hot chocolate with marshmallows on top.

There is a lot about snow that appeals to me. I love to watch it floating down, knowing that no two snowflakes are the same. The majesty of God’s Creation and the wonder that is invested in such tiny things…how much more does He care for us? Catching snowflakes on your tongue as they fell was so much fun. You didn’t catch many, and you looked like an idiot while you were doing it, but there was just something that was cool about it.

If we got a really deep snow, Dad would make SnowCream. It was considered a delicacy, and is really a complicated concoction…you take a big bowl of clean, pure, pristine snow, pour in a can of Eagle Brand Milk, and stir. You must have just the right snow to milk ratio, of course. And you must eat it immediately. If you try to re-freeze it, it’s just not the same.

I love the blanket of silence that a good snow puts on everything. It used to be more pronounced when we lived outside of town, but it still slows things down a bit. The critters are even slow to get up and out. First thing in the morning right after it snows is so…quiet and still. And so pretty.

The natural drift of snowfall is so beautiful…like a fluffy cotton blanket. Then we have to get out and put ugly tire tracks in the driveway and street…and splash dirt and crud up over the curbs. Then the beautiful, peaceful, snowfall becomes slushy and dirty. And it refreezes and turns into ice…which is not so fun.

Of course, I am aware that there are those out there who hate snow, and complain about it when it does come. And to you I say, “Get over it or move.” My dogs don’t care much for snow, either. And I frequently am forced to shove them out the door when the white stuff blankets the ground. You can’t really blame them – they’re Texas dogs…and had never really seen snow until we moved back home. True, it’s cold on their little feet, but I will not be one who puts boots on their dog to go out to potty. Not that there’s anything wrong with it – I’m just not going to do it.

But I think one of the best things about a good snowfall is that it makes you slow down. It makes you stop and enjoy the “splendor of a winter’s morn”*…even if you don’t want to or think you have time. And sometimes you can even stay home because of it!

*10 points if you can tell me what Christmas movie that’s from.