By 8:20am, I had been awake for over an hour, marveling at the beauty that is precipitation. Staring at it from behind my windows; twirling in it from my deserted driveway; inhaling deeply in the hopes I could remember its smell; taking photos and releasing tears that my sister wasn't here to play with in my first snowfall in 31 years.
Snow is something magical. It is a peaceful blanket, hiding everything that is ugly and allowing the city to start over. It is hypnotizing and playful. I sat up in bed, looking out of the windows, watching the children running in the snow before being caged inside at school. I heard the little girls next door exclaim in glee as they left the warmth of their home.
The bottom edges of the windows actually fogged up, as though someone was blowing her hot breath onto them. It's not just something that a techie sprays from a can onto prop windows!! A thick layer of snow filled up corners and gave cars a chilly embrace, as wipers tried in vain to scrape it away and people poured hot water from the kettle onto the front windshields so they could start their day indoors at a desk.
As a thick darkness of night disappeared and I saw my present more clearly, I began to giggle. Each snowflake was like a fluff of cotton rushing to the ground. Some were so much bigger than I anticipated. Each snowflake's tiny collection of ice barely dampened my fingers as it said hello to my hand. Dads walked their sons to the school down the street (though a little late, I believe), with their fur-lined hoodies protecting themselves from my miracle. How silly. Let it fall on your hair! Your face! Your eyelashes!
Snow forgives what is beneath it. Snow forgives more than people forgive. It says, "Shhhh. Calm down a little bit. Here, relax. Come up with a solution, for soon I will be gone and you will have to try again." Perhaps people/couples should have some sort of calming agent, like snow. Something to say, "Shhh, collect your thoughts. Stop reaching and trying to be heard and seen. Just calm down. Now try again." Prayer is probably a good option. It is so calming and comforting to pray as a couple. It gives hope of a connection of souls incomparable to a connection of the bodies.
I don't live in Florida anymore. For so long, that has made me mad. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss the warmth. I feel unproductive. But I get to live somewhere else for a little while. I get to experience something new. I get to meet new people with accents I can't duplicate to save my life. I get to see mountains and scenery I never thought I would see, let alone live near.
And I get snow.
