Difficult to discern (!), especially before dawn’s early light, but that slushy stuff covering the bittersweet in the urn outside my pantry door is the first snow of the season. We have maybe an inch, following rain all day yesterday from that cold front I mentioned that was supposed to blow through yesterday. The forecast gales never developed, but the temperature evidently dropped enough to give us some white stuff. For those of you who are not fans of the white stuff, I’ll quit caroling on about it, but it’s very beautiful. I see there’s a winter weather advisory out, and I’m supposed to go see a friend this morning who lives two mountains away — we’ll see . . .
Maybe it’s that very uncertainty that seems to always accompany a snowfall, or an anticipated snowfall, that adds to either the liking or the aversion to snow. I loved those mornings as a child when snow often meant no school — even tho’ I loved school! — it was just the disruption of it all, perhaps. . . .
Since then I have sadly learned, as do we all, that “disruptions” in our established routines can be very off-putting and even disturbingly tragic. One has only to glance at the day’s world events to be assured of that.
But enough of that. This piece of writing is not going in that direction, on this day at least. The unexpected “good” stuff — You win the lottery . . . Out of the blue, you get a dream job offer . . . Your dearest friend from across the country shows up at your door . . .
The event in my own life about which I’m reminded is meeting my now-spouse after seven years of being widowed. I had grieved and grieved after unexpectedly losing my husband in 2003, and settled into being single again, thinking never to fall in love again. And along came a crusty old codger who made me laugh again . . .
Amongst the rows of the “planned-for” in our gardens, in our lives, can we make room for that unexpected, but elegant and exquisite weed?? I have to admit, growing up in my particular family, and with a healthy dose of a dour Scots-Irish ancestry, I am usually looking at these unexpected happenings with narrowed suspicious eyes and a “yes, but . . .” attitude, always aware that “yeah, but now I’ll be besieged with people wanting money if I win the lottery” or “yeah, but I’ll have to move if I get that new job” or “uh, oh, I haven’t vacuumed” if that dear friend shows up.
Oh, what it means to be human! On this day, may I embrace the unexpected blessing, without having to anticipate the inevitable crap that’s gonna accompany it.
The joy of snow . . .