Snow!

I went to bed last night relaxed in a way that only a horrible night's sleep the previous night AND finishing classes for the semester can let a person do. I read a little old school David Sedaris and pulled the covers over my head and prepared for a cold night, one where a "wintry mix" was predicted. I figured this meant cold, miserable rain and braced myself for the coming day of grayness and grossness. I heard precipitation falling outside when I woke up about 6:45, and as I reached over to turn off the alarm clock on my iPhone, I checked my e-mail while still under the covers with my head on the pillow, and there was an e-mail from my mother from mere moments before: "IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I shot out of bed and looked out the window and not only was it snowing, it was SNOWING. All I could see outside was whiteness: the street, the sidewalk, the yard, the neighbor's roof across the way. I threw on some sweatpants, boots, and a coat and grabbed my Dunder Mifflin umbrella and went to the backdoor to let the dogs out to explore the backyard. They weren't all that excited about the snow, but I sure was.

That was the beginning of a wonderful day. I went into work for a few hours as one of the few who showed up -- some had other meetings and some have little kids and some live far away, and school was canceled. That's right. School canceled, bridges shut down, you name it. I know this will make those in colder climates roll their eyes but you have to understand that this sort of thing only happens about every 20 or 30 years down here. It snowed briefly in 2002, enough to cover the ground, but that was about it. I don't remember it lasting very long, though it was very exciting because my brothers did something cool in my parents' yard that I can't seem to find a picture of at the moment.

The last time it snowed this much (like, 2 or 3 inches that hung around for a good part of a day or two) was in 1988. I was in the 7th grade. We had free dress day that day, I remember, and it was some sort of Spirit Day at school. Somehow we ended up pouring into the parking lot, scraping snow off of our teachers' cars, and throwing snowballs at each other before being sent home early. It was delirious happiness for us, who had never before seen snow like that in our lifetimes unless our families went skiing for Christmas, which not many of our families did. I still have happy memories of that day and that weekend, how it felt to have our hair wet with falling snow and pink cheeks and that sense of celebration. My little brother and Shelley's little brother built a snowman in our front yard -- they were about four years old. All I'm saying is that it was a great time. And it's been more than 20 years since.

So seeing the streets of town covered in whiteness created a lot of joy today. I loved looking out the windows at work (before being sent home early, of course) and seeing how different the same boring sights I see every day looked when covered in snow. I loved driving around my neighborhood and past my old high school. I loved laughing at the dogs as they freaked out. I loved taking a stick and writing a message in the snow in my front yard. I even loved bundling up and heading to the gym to run three miles. I just pretty much loved every minute of it.

Right now I'm making my favorite chicken curry in the crock pot and peppermint brownies. I'm about to have some dark chocolate truffle hot chocolate with marshmallows on top. B. and I are going to watch the new Christmas episode of "The Office."

I would not want to live in a place where it snows for months on end and it has to be shoveled and sloshed through to and from work every day. I don't like cold weather, and I know I would hate dealing with snow in that capacity. But having it snow for one single morning in December was a beautiful surprise and a gift. I will not soon forget it.