Ah, yes the first the snow of the year. As a child it used to mean so much to me. I can remember bundling up in my winter coat and stocking cap and climbing a tree just so I could see the first snowflake of the year. The first snow represented so much excitement and anticipation.
It meant that Christmas was just around the corner and I just might be getting that neato Evel Knievel action figure with the stunt cycle. It meant waking up extra early to listen to the radio in the hopes that school was called off. Endless days of snowball fights, snow angels, and building igloos were certainly impending. A long day of playing in the snow would be followed by getting enough wood for the fireplace to last the night, eating a big dinner, and having the family gather 'round to watch the Donny & Marie show.
But alas add thirty years and the whole meaning of the first snow somehow changes. It is no longer Christmas but the Holidays. There are people who do not even want Santa to say "ho, ho, ho". Evel Knievel of course is no longer with us. I now track the first snow by Doppler Radar on the internet, and Marie Osmond is divorced with eight kids.
If I get up early it is because I need the extra time so I can scrape off my windows and to allow for treacherous roads so I can make it to work. Before I leave I say a quick prayer in the hopes that I make it to work and home in one piece so I can do the same exact thing the next day.
Trips to the grocery store are hectic and traumatic. The long walk back to the milk section ends in you discovering that the one inch of snow that was forecast has sent all the neurotic paranoid freaks scurrying to the store where they buy three gallons just in case that one inch of snow causes a complete breakdown of the cities transportation system for an entire week which puts them at risk to be calcium deficient. Meanwhile the level headed people amongst us just want enough for a bowl of Fruit Loops in the morning. Instead we are forced to head to the bakery to pick up donuts for the family. Wait a minute....maybe that is not such a bad thing after all.
The passing of time has indeed affected my perspective on the first snow of the year. But you know even though I may sound like I am complaining it is still exciting. It still means something even if all it means is that I made it another year. There is nothing more beautiful than fresh snow on the ground and in the trees.
All of the complaining and commiserating that we do amongst our friends, family, and coworkers just makes us feel a little closer because we are going through it together. If anything we can assure ourselves that we are a little tougher than those wintering in Florida and drinking fruity concoctions with umbrellas in them.
Some things though only have to change if you want them to. In my house it is still Christmas, Santa still says "ho, ho, ho", and Donny Osmond pretty much looks exactly the same and quite frankly is just as annoyingly chipper as he ever was.
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