Dashing through the snow

I was supposed to be heading back to Rochester this afternoon, but had a slight problem given that all of Washington, D.C has shut down, including the airports.  After spending 5 days with some very young cousins, I was a bit disappointed.  But after watching the snow fall down for at least 12 hours, and coat the town with a beautiful white blanket.  Given that we couldn't drive, we suited up in boots, gloves, hats and scarves to trek out into the wilderness.  Taffy (the dog) was jumping around like a bunny on speed, and Rachel kept getting stuck in the snow. The not-so-fun part was me going in to fish her out.  I loved getting the snow down my boots.

The neighborhood was quiet, peaceful- seemed to be at rest.  The cars were coated in a thick blanket of snow all around, and you instinctively knew that no one would be moving today.  There is something so beautiful about a snow covered neighborhood, and it's something I've missed.  Today made me realize how much I love the snow.  It's like with every new coat, there is a fresh start.  It covers and re-beautifies the old layer, allowing it to become whole again, to glisten once more.

Today, I needed a fresh layer of snow.  I needed a lot of it.  I received a call home from my Dad, saying that my 12 year old golden retriever "Disney" had accidentally over dosed on her arthritis medication.  They weren't sure if she was going to be okay, but they took her to the ER to start her on the "therapy".  This is the same dog that had cancer removed Dec 23 last year, and spent Christmas Eve in the ER after she popped her stitches out.  Good dog, right? To top it off today, we found my grandfathers stocking he had used in years past. Nothing was horribly wrong, but it was sad.  It's the first Christmas without Grandpa there to make fun of all the gifts we give him.  It's the first one without him sitting there, dozing off after he opens each gift.  I missed my Grandfather, my dog, and my family today.  I even missed that guy I date, just because I knew his hugs would make things seem a little bit better.

Because I couldn't get my hugs, I decided I needed to make my own fresh layer of snow.  I grabbed a bunch of computer paper, scissors, and my 4 little cousins.  And then we cut.  We cut a lot.  There were little slivers of paper everywhere, but I let that go.  We cut out at least 40 snowflakes, and hung them all over the basement ceiling.  And at the end, when they were so incredibly proud to show their parents and Grandma what we created, it felt incredibly rewarding.  With their help, I was able to create my own fresh layer of snow.