Project 365 - Waiting For Snow

Snow was just a fact of winter life in New England where I grew up.  I do not recall my father missing work or anything close to a 2 hour delay in my school start time.  Snow days were most definitely the exception. Our buses had chains on their tires.  The ringing of metal links against pavement told us to put down the snowballs, pick up our books and get on the bus.

I remember snow banks along our hand shoveled driveway high enough and deep enough for us to tunnel through and make rooms inside.  We would actually pour water over our snow caves hardening them into gleaming, icy fortresses.

I could smell snow in the air when I was a kid.  In fact, that talent lasted right into adulthood.  One winter night a while back, my husband and I were on our way into a theater, when I turned to him and asked, "Can you smell that?  That is the smell of snow.  It will be snowing by the time we are ready to go home."  I believe he rolled his eyes.  When we came out we found our car freshly dusted with snow.  He never questioned my sense of snow smell again.

Now, waiting for snow has lost it's magic. It takes us by surprise.  Schools are delayed or closed, people stay home from work and wait inside for someone to come and plow their driveways.  Waiting for snow, we become anxious, wondering how much of our lives the snow will bury this time.