The First Snow Fall

Every year it happens – the first snow fall. This morning I got dressed for church and usually I like to be comfortable, nice jeans and shirt. I like to keep our people on their toes and mix it up a bit and wear a skirt. So I got dressed and I liked the way I look, with my brown skirt, high heel brown shoes and nice shirt. I didn’t quite put on my high heel shoes when my wonderful husband looks at me and says, “You look cute.” Okay note to all the men out there cute is not a word your wife wants you use to describe how she’s dressed. Puppies and kittens are cute. Little babies are cute. After the high heels, make-up and earrings came on, he changed his tune. Now I looked hot. Note to all men, hot a much better word to describe how your wife looks. We’re about to leave when I look out my window and see the first snow. It’s coming down like gang busters. I thought to myself, well off with the skirt and high heel shoes. I had to settle for cute.

When I was a kid, I loved the snow. It meant that sometimes school was delayed or even cancelled. I got to stay home and play in the snow, make a snowman or have a snowball fight with my friends. The best part was coming in afterwards and having some hot chocolate with marshmallows.

I grew up and my kids experienced the same. Looking at it through a parent’s eyes was different. If the snow day was just one day, it was cool. But when we were in West Virginia the snow day lasted a week. Then they went to school and it lasted another week. They went back to school for two days and another week off. Those hills filled with snow and the school buses couldn’t drive through them. I started to hate the snow. Kids get restless after a long period of time.

Ever since we got into an accident in the snow, I’m really not a big fan of it anymore. I don’t like the way people drive in the snow. Around here, they don’t plow as they did in New York. Only the main roads get plowed and the side ones are disasters. So the first snow fall is not what it once was for me. That’s really a shame, because it is pretty.

Lord I ask that you put back into me that child like love for the snow. Let me once again love the purity, the fun and enjoyment it brings.

© Nadine Z. 2006