Snow...

It snowed yesterday.

Snow… brrr…

The day started out like the days before – clear, cold, and windy. Quite windy. Shaking the house, rattling the roof, making the trees sway windy. Back home, a clear sunny morning like this one would have meant a nice warm day, but not here – the sunlight alone is not enough to counter the frigid bite in the air, aggravated by the strong winds.

And then the clouds started rolling in.

It was like a great grey wall, slowly spreading evenly across a blue backdrop. A darkness, silently engulfing the sky, blotting out the sun. In its wake, it left only various shades of grey painted across the heavens. Any lingering illusion of warmth was swept away, as the clouds were escorted in by the frigid winds, heralds of impending doom.

Then it started to rain. A freezing rain, the droplets turned to pellets of ice even as they fell from the sky. The green grass and black asphalt were slowly covered with the whiteness of frozen rain. And, gradually, the rain gave way to snow.

It did not drift peacefully from the sky, this snow. It was not a gentle snowfall, as is often depicted in fairy-tale scenes on television. No, these ice crystals were tossed down by an ungentle hand, toyed with by the harsh winds, and finally released to lay disgruntled upon the ground. The wind mixed dirt and grime in with the snow crystals, leaving the small mounds of snow looking disheveled and unclean. The snow collected upon the lawn, and in the streets, and on the step of the front porch, like miniature hilly snow banks.

Perfect for exploration. For cats.

Deb and Wes opened the door and let the cats wander in the snow a bit. They were intensely curious about this strange white stuff falling from the sky and collecting on their lawn, yet clearly unhappy with the “wet and cold” part. It only took a few gusts of snowy wind and a few seconds of wet-and-cold-paws to convince them that being inside the warm house was infinitely preferable to this being-outside thing. At least, until they got curious again, after about an hour or so of warmth had erased the experience from their little furry minds again.

Of course, today the snow gave way to freezing rains, making the sidewalk and streets icy and dangerous. I watched a few brave souls out in it today, slipping and sliding their way across the icy plains (well… sidewalks and walkways) to their cars.

… I’m definitely in a strange, alien place…

Post-Thanksgiving Blues

Went home last week for the Thanksgiving Holidays, and for a day or so was feeling just a bit down. I really took for granted having the family so close. We used to gather together for everything - every holiday, every birthday, every graduation. Now, not so much. But that just makes the times we DO gather all the more special, I guess.

Now, I'm far away. Far enough that I can't be there for every event, and every holiday. Far enough that I can't stop by and see my grandparents anytime I want, or tease my cousins about being so tall.

I miss the closeness. As someone who's had that support, and that bond, all my life, adjusting to this distance I've put between us is hard. Everything is different now, and no matter what, there's no turning back.

Still, I am discovering more of who I am, and how I want to live. I've always been the responsible one, the reliable one - the one others could count on when they're in need. And it's always come easy to me, to be the helpful one. But now, I have to tackle taking responsibility for my self - and I'm finding that's the hardest thing of all.