Pretty Little Snowflakes

Winter; A loath-able season.  The season I dread every year.  The time of year I never look forward to.  It seems to melt together into one, long, dark...time period.  I always reminisce about Summer and running out in a tee-shirt and shorts, sometimes barefoot, but normally with "flip flops". 

Each time we have a snow storm, it's the same thing:  Heavy, wet, cold snow.  You walk into the house covered & bringing all kinds of the wet stuff in with you.  You would have to be June Cleaver (or my mother-in-law) to keep the stuff from dragging throughout the house.  Unfortunately, I am neither. 

This morning at 5:30 I woke up... actually, I hit the snooze button, but wasn't actually allowed to go back to sleep thanks to my cat who is MY mother figure.  In other words, she's doing to me, what I do to my kids to get them up... less the sitting on their chests and tapping them on the nose.  Up I got - meandered my way downstairs to try and figure out which door in my kitchen was actually the microwave!  (I noticed that when I put that down as my status, there were many others who have done the same, including putting shoes in the refrigerator) Julie, my feline "mother" always demands that her needs be put first.  I don't stand on ceremony with her...I just plop some food down in a bowl and call it a day.  After about a minute she skips over to the door and in an, don't you think I am sooo adorable even though I step on your face kind of 'mew'.   I want to go out!!  Yeah - I admit it; it is cute. 

When I opened the door for her... I caught first sight of it;  the snow floating down from the sky.  I usually watch the channel six news while I make lunches and even though the weather report came on a number of times, I just don't remember it.  To quote my mother, "I have too many pencils in my head"  The whole microwave/cabinet thing really threw me off!  Anyway, there it was...MORE snow.  Ugh!!

As we all know now, it snowed all.........day..........long.  And by glancing out the window, I see that it is still making it's way down from the heavens.  The only GOOD thing about it:  It's the pretty snow.  YES I SAID IT!!  Pretty! 

Even though it was kind of slippery, I decided to take my life into my hands and go Old County Road to bring Katherine to school... Yes, there have been some major accidents on that road, however, that's the way I like to go.  When we got to the quarry, I looked across and saw the pine trees with snow on their base as well as on the tops, some of the trees looked as if they were growing in front of the rocks...seeing that always reminds me of that scene in The Chronicles of Narnia; The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe when the Pensey children had on their heavy coats and were crossing that cliff/bridge thing.

After I dropped Katherine off I had to talk to another parent outside... on my black pea coat I had fluffy snowflake after fluffy snowflake land on me.  These were the kind of snowflakes that you try to make as a little kid in school... you cut out a big circle, fold it about 100 times, then a little snip here and a big snip there - you end up with quite a piece of paper that your parent smiles and puts it on the refrigerator with the other 250 paper snowflakes.

I kept gingerly picking them up with a finger to see the patterns - all so beautiful.  Of course, I thought of how it is said that there are NO two snowflakes alike.  I was holding a conversation with myself in my head (I know everyone does it, if you say you don't - you're a liar!!) 

My conversation went something like this; 

"They say that there are no two snowflakes alike."

"Is that even possible?  How did 'they' discover this??....With the heaps and heaps of these pretty little snowflakes around...how can their NOT be some that are the same?!"

"Why doubt it?"

"Why believe it?"

"Well, there are no two people alike.  Even identical twins.  They share the same DNA, but they're still different."

"True, but snowflakes..."

"Stop and think about God creating these snowflakes... "

I then imagined seeing a giant handful of snow and with a gentle breath of air...   the pretty little snowflakes floated down to earth and landed on my black pea coat.


This was a really good reminder to me today about no matter how small I may feel - or how I think my problems don't matter one bit to God...because after all....He has more pressing business...  No, I'm important to Him.  We are all important... we are all special.  Even while there has been that huge disaster in Haiti and so many people are going over to bring water, food, medical help...I am still important.  However...I in no way compare my issues with the ones people have in Haiti...(just for the record)  It's a love thing.

I'm off for now...

Goodnight little snowflakes!!

Please!! No one Startle the Groundhog!!

Welcome February!  A month where the cold just blasts against you each time you walk out the door.  Unless you have a remote car starter, you are one of the unlucky ones just as myself who has to RUSH out and start the car and give is a good 15-20 minutes to get the windshield defrosted & the interior warmed up enough so you don't shiver while trying to steer.  Yes, there have been a few times where I've had to just race out the door with the kids and hop in the car with the windshield pure frost.  I end up trying to squirt it off with the windshield washer/wipers to no avail!  So, I end up being one of those ones who is peeking through a tiny patch of clear window to make it across town to Nicholas' school!!  Thankfully, I've been able to remember and go out to get things rolling!

Tomorrow being February 2nd, it is once again, Groundhog Day.  In all honesty, I never give it a thought until you look in the paper the next day to see a picture of an ungodly amount of people hovered around this hole waiting for the poor little beastie to make it's grand outing.  He probably never sees it coming... He wakes up in the morning, has a nice cuppa joe to accompany his breakfast that his wife has prepped for him.  He then goes and brushes his teeth and fluffs his fur.  (Or is it hair?)  He gives his wife & kids a hug and kiss and lets them know he'll be home for supper.  Out of the hole he goes, just to be greeted by thousands of flashes from the paparazzi!!  He doesn't even have a nano-second before he dashes back into his hole, slams the door and bolts!! "That's it!! I am NOT leaving this place for another six weeks!!"


I'm off to bed for now.... I'm dreaming of an early Spring!!