Six-sided Magic.
When I told St. Louisans I was moving here to Virginia, they said I'd miss the change of seasons. I told them that I wouldn't miss the ice and snow. Since moving here, I figured that if I wanted ice and snow, there are some places to ski not far away. But I forgot about something.
I recently saw a Simpsons episode showing Bart waking up on a snowy morning, watching and waiting for his school to be closed. I remembered that anticipation, and how an unexpected school holiday was so wonderful.
Then I realized I had forgotten about the magic of such a snowfall, especially for children. The very thing that gives you a day off from school provides such terrific entertainment! Snowballs, snow forts, snow men! Sledding! Skating too, if that's your pleasure, I never have.
Just the delicious feeling of snow, in your gloved fingers, crunching beneath your boots. What snow does to sound, absorbing it all and making the world silent and watchful. Snowflakes on your face.
Our wonderful dog Raven was coal black, and she slowed to a crawl in hot weather. But man oh man, did she love the snow. She'd stand at the door, just waiting to be let out, and then jumped and played and chased snowballs all day. Fun to make your dog chase snowballs, since they disappear.
Even if you're too grownup to throw a snowball (not me), there is the heroic story of persevering against the elements. How long did it take to dig out your car this morning? Did you see some cars stuck in drifts? Did you slide on some ice? What's your harrowing tale of getting to work today?
There are kids who grow up in places like Southern California that never know this kind of magic. It's easy for me to say I don't miss the change of seasons, because I've experienced them all, many times.
2 comments:
People tend to look at me like I'm nuts here when I say "I can't wait for it to snow." People become jaded when they see something constantly. Le Canadien used to hate it when I told her I wanted snow...:P
But, even now, where I don't really throw snowballs or build snowmen anymore, I still love a good 6 inches of snow. I love just standing and watching snow fall, the eerie silence of it all, I adore the kind of queasy gut feeling you get when you have to drive to work on roads that haven't been plowed, so you're going 5 miles an hour, all of it.
This is one area where I hope I don't end up like my dad, I never want to get to the point where I don't want snow. :P
Now, ice, freezing rain, those suck.
Well, here's the amazing thing, which you may have deduced by reading between the lines in my original post. I do miss the change in seasons. I do wish it would snow. I miss it. It's magical and there's nothing else like it. So not only did you not end up like me, I actually ended up like you. So there.
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