It doesn't snow a lot in Southern Alabama. Almost never, in fact. So when I moved to Nashville in college and experienced my first true snowfall, it was a complete novelty to me. That first snowfall was in early March, well past the time when most Tennesseans have given up hope of seeing snow. You can never count on having snow during a Nashville winter and it comes when you least expect it.
This winter has been
warm
gray
wet
gray
muggy
gray
searingly cold
wetter still
And there has been nary a flake of snow.
Sometimes the absence of a thing makes you realize what that particular thing brings into your life. As I've longed for snow, I've paused to consider just what it is I miss.
I want crisp white flakes
To look outside and see not grass nor leaves nor asphalt
Only white.
I want to wake to an outdoor blanket
Of the kind that does not warm, but silences instead.
I want the quiet
leisurely
pace
of a snow day.
I want pancakes
and hot chocolate
and stories read aloud under blankets.
I want the beauty
and the stillness
and to see the world in a brand new way.
My longed-for snow may not come this year. Given our weather thus far, I am not optimistic. So maybe on the warm, wet and dreary days of winter, I will come back to this post and read my word picture of snow. For 2013, that may have to suffice.
May your winter bring you time to savor this season of hibernation and hidden growth. And if you have snow, relish it for all it brings and for its ability to help you see things anew.
1 comment:
As much as I miss snow, and rue the fact that my children are practically ignorant of its awesomeness, the blizzardy alternative gets to be a real pain after awhile. I try to console myself, but it doesn't really work. The bottom line is that I would break for my New England home at the first opportunity. - Christine
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