Day 1

I was raised in a state without snow. It was a place where we prided ourselves on the ability to wear flip-flops all year long. The closest I came to a "White Christmas" was when we would wake up early and see some fog outside and the grass was thinly veiled in frost. By the time our presents had been opened the fog and the frost had burned away and all that was needed was a sweatshirt. Pure bliss my friends!

It has been several years since I lived in such a place. Instead I'm suddenly "experiencing all 4 seasons" as my co-worker lovingly pointed out. I still experience warm summers but my winters are a bit more chilly than I'm used to. 

Last week we had our first snow. I can handle snow when it is Christmas time and I don't have anything to do besides stay in my pj's all day and sip hot coco by the fire, unfortunately the snow came on a Wednesday and thus I found myself grumbling as I threw on as many layers as possible before heading out the door. I turned on my car and set my heater on high as I dug through my trunk for my ice scraper. 

As I sat there pushing away the snow I looked up at the mountains that surround my small town.They looked so completely majestic that I had to stop what I was doing for a moment to take it all in. The sun was rising up behind them and I swore you could see the light bouncing off the million snowflakes that were starting to fall again. 

It was beautiful.

Later that afternoon the sun prevailed and the snow in the valley around my home melted away to reveal the gorgeous fall colors. The mountains however, remained snow-capped and I found myself staring later that day at the contrast. 

The weather has warmed back up and I'm sure we won't see any more snow flurries for at least a couple of weeks (for which my toes and fingers are thankful) but when the flakes start to fly again, I will be ready. The thing is that sometimes, there is nothing more beautiful than a fresh layer of pure snow.