Like a Child

 

I don’t know if it’s a secret, but it shouldn’t be: I love snow! Boy, oh boy, did we get snow today. It started out all itty-bitty and dandruff like, but very quickly ballooned into the kind of snow I absolutely LOVE: big, fluffy flakes, softly falling from the sky. No wind, just snow dancing straight down. Blanketing trees and cars and houses. It always makes everything look so soft and cozy.

I know so many people look at snow with hatred. They hate it because it makes driving and walking treacherous. And it’s cold.  I don't disagree with those things.

I agree that driving in it while others are driving in it is absolutely no fun, especially when those other people don’t know the right things to do when driving in snow… see my rant here. But if I’m on the road and others are being safe it’s really quite a lot of fun for me to drive in the snow. It’s just so damn pretty! As for walking in it, I try to remind myself that it helps me remember that I have muscles in places I don’t normally use. Just trying walking for a long distance on icy snow and tomorrow, you’ll feel where those muscles are that you haven’t put to work in a long time. There is a different balance while walking in snow and on ice. Practice helps.

It’s cold. Yes. I love that it’s cold. It’s like a soft, wet kiss from Heaven. I love how it feathers out on you as it drifts down. It doesn’t stay cold. If it’s on you, it’ll melt and your body will warm it up. Otherwise, you don’t need to touch it and it’s not cold, not to you. I think that’s where I get the “soft and cozy” feeling. If I’m not in it, it’s not cold… but it looks like a fluffy white blanket and that makes me think soft and cozy.

Today, I kept glancing out my office window to watch the snow falling. It was so pretty, so peaceful, and it made me happy to see. I’m like a child when it snows… I had to get up and go outside and stand in it. Letting the flakes kiss me as they landed on me. I know people thought I was crazy, but I didn’t care. If I could have, I would have played in it.

I love snow.

Just for fun, here are some random snow factoids:

• All snowflakes have six sides
• The snow capital of the United States is Stampede Pass in Washington State. Each year, the average snowfall is 430 inches. (That should make you happy if you don’t live in Washington State… you may get a lot of snow, but not THAT much!)
• A fifteen inch snowflake (15 inches = 38.1 centimeters) was recorded in 1887 in Montana.
• One inch (2.54 cm) of rain equals ten inches (25.4 cm) of snow.
• It can get too cold to snow.

Do me a favor, whether you like snow or not, the next time some flakes float down, remember being a child and just stick out your tongue and catch one!  It'll make you smile, I promise.