This morning I awoke to 3 inches of beautiful snow blanketing everything in my backyard. I was happy to watch it drift down quietly in the early morning's growing grey light. When I got out of the shower, it was a beautiful pervasive white that highlighted every dark branch and reed, drawing attention to the form of the thing simply by laying upon it.
I wrestled with getting to work, finally turning around to come home and set up the VPN to work from home for the day. When the initial setup did not work correctly, I ended up packing it in and heading to work around 11 after all of the people scared of the snow had gotten off the roads. I enjoyed the whiteness of the forests and fields and the fat flurries that dropped down past my car as I drove. It truly felt like winter, the winter I've been waiting for with baited breath. It's my hope now that it stays a while, and doesn't simply melt by the time we all get out of work. Already it was starting to melt on the streets and sidewalks and fall off tree branches in places. Maybe if it can hold on there will be something to walk around in on Saturday or Sunday. Maybe we'll even see more. I'm tired of bland, grey winters with snows that don't stay. I long for the years when I could pile up the snow high enough to jump off the roof of the garage in to the waiting cushion of it below. (This is a true story and my Mom still yells at me for it, btw.) I want those winters back of boots and cold noses and the blessings of hot chocolate in cold tummies. I wanted to appreciate a fire for putting me in to a deep, drowsy state while slush melted off my shoes and gloves. And I want a chance to make a snowball and throw it at Bob when he's not looking, then run inside and hide like a wuss.
Perhaps all of these things will come. It's just one snow fall, and the middle path states you don't put all of your hopes in one snowstorm. But it is fun to remember. :)
Of course, in the midst of all this reverie and hope for a white winter and Christmas came the news that a young man killed himself live via a webcam. And nobody realized it was serious. He took something like 20 xanax, fell over, and never got back up.
The jokes and the demands that someone stand responsible for it are already flying, with the stipulation that the people demanding someone take ownership of it shouldn't have to ,because they weren't directly involved (of course.) Pass the buck, internet style. Amusing to watch, sad to see start.
I do worry a bit what the repercussions of this might be. Copycats? Tougher regulations on those of us who wouldn't have thought to use it that way? A backlash against people who use the internet as a way to find help for issues like that? (Will they all be dubbed "candyjunkies" now?) Ahh, the next step forward in loss of innocence.
Oh well. Welcome winter. I've been waiting for you. Glad you're here now.
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