Snow Days!

Only nature has a right to grieve perpetually, for she only is innocent. Soon the ice will melt, and the blackbirds sing along the river which he frequented, as pleasantly as ever. The same everlasting serenity will appear in this face of God, and we will not be sorrowful, if he is not. ~Henry David Thoreau

I felt the moisture in the air as my daughter and I stepped out through the automatic doors of our favorite health food store. I felt a slight sensation on my hand, cool and wet, just as we were transferring our groceries from the cart to Pegasus, our trusty white mini-van with high mileage and sorely in need of a wash. The temperature was just at freezing and the wind biting. It could have been a tiny wet flake, but all evidence was gone in an instant. Was it finally beginning?

For nearly a week, the weathermen had been broadcasting the possibility of snow. Snow in Georgia. This is not an insignificant event. Of course, children quiver with excitement over the thought of this frozen white stuff for the opportunity to play in it and the possibility of school closings. However, in the Georgia, the real problem is not the snow itself, but ice. For the last few days, temperatures had been dipping into the teens at night and would stay below freezing for the next few days. The wind chill factor would also be around zero degrees so it was unlikely that the ice would melt away the next day.

I had been considering canceling our regularly scheduled piano lesson, but decided to just see how the day went. We had left home early and were done with shopping. I had more time than I needed to stop at the post office just five minutes later. No doubt about it now. It was a very fine, yet wet, snow besprinkling the windshield.

As we traveled north, the snow fall became heavier and the snowflakes a bit larger. Outside of Trudy's home studio, the snow was already accumulating on the ground. The Princess expounded on how this was Rachel Rebecca's first snow. (She picked the name Rachel Rebecca for her newest doll because it means "a bound ewe." In other words, she would be like a little lamb following her everywhere and so far she has lived up to the name well.)

On the drive home, the snow continued as the temperatures began dropping, lighter in some areas and heavier in others, barely coating the ground yet melting on the roads. Traffic was lighter than usual and the drive home went well even as we listened to school closings for the next day. We were soon home and safe.

Today, I awoke to find the lawns looked more dusted with white. The Princess would sled down our slick driveway all giggles.

We watched vehicles struggle up and down the slippery hills in our neighborhood. My husband would not be going anywhere for work today, but we had to return a rented car. The main roads still had icy spots, but we did fine. On the way home we stopped Steak 'n Shake for their Happy Hour, which means we had yummy milk shakes for half price. While we sipped our shared White Chocolate and my husband quickly devoured his Peppermint Chocolate Chip, the Princess would come up for air long enough to read a library loan, Hatching Magic, aloud to us.

Now we are home about to prepare dinner with a flickering light in our fireplace radiating warmth. The ice will continue to be a problem for a few more days and, unfortunately, this cold front is causing problems with produce in Florida also.

~ My Lord, thank you for the changes in nature that remind us how much our lives are influenced by them, how little control we have, how well we can adapt, and make the best with what we have. ~