Snow

I don't like snow. At all. I'm sure at one time in my life, when it meant the absence of school, sledding, snowman making, and snowball fights, it was a delight to behold. But ever since I became both a runner and a driver (same year, in fact), snow hasn't found it's delight back into my heart.

Mark says I get a little crazy about weather in general and probably the impending doom of the forecast of snow most of all. No, I'm not a "French toast" nut (running to the store for hoards of eggs, bread, and milk) but if I know snow is forecasted, I'm checking radar maps, snow total predictions, and trying to plan when I need to get up to shovel/clear a path/will I be able to run/get to the gym/get to work, etc.

So, needless to say, this winter season thus far has not been fun. But I've survived. And each day gets longer and brings us closer to spring.

Yesterday it was forecasted to snow again…albeit, just a little bit. As it began in the mid-afternoon, I had just finished all my "Saturday stuff"=chores, laundry, errands, walk the dog, etc. This point of the day on most Saturdays, especially if I have no plans for the evening (which is 90% of the time and fine by me!), because I can sit in my cozy chair in the living room and read. For hours. I lit a bunch of candles (all food-scented) so the downstairs smelled like a bakery and lit a fire to warm up downstairs ("Lit"=HA! Turned on the gas nob and pressed the ignite button)…I grabbed my book, settled in, and my Granpop cat, Buddy, snuggled in onto my lap. I propped the book on a pillow…and then my gaze went to the open front door where we keep the screen door glass paned all year…and I saw the snow falling. And it was…well…pretty.

I started to open my book…but then got that "nudge" I sometimes get from the Spirit. So I put the book down and just watched the snow fall for a while. And it wasn't so bad…in fact, it was kind of nice.

After a while, I began to say "thank You"…Thank You for the beauty of nature…thank You for this purring bags of bones on my lap I've been able to love for almost 17 years…thank You that my house is warm and smells good…thank You that I am here by myself and can enjoy this--I don't have to work today or work a second job to make ends meet, I don't have little ones running around demanding my attention or older ones needing to be driven to this or that all day…thank You that I even have "Jen time"…and yes, thank You for the snow--that it's the light and fluffy kind I can sweep away in an hour and that we're only supposed to get an inch or two (=runnable and drivable).

It was humbling. It was all a good reminder. And as much as I enjoy my "Jen time", it was kinda neat to get that extra push to just "be", to not do "doing something" but just sit and watch and be still…and thankful.