Let it snow

It's snowing outside. It looks like it's been snowing forever. A thick white blanket covers every conceivable surface. Looking through the window I can see the snow on the balcony bannister piled up near a foot high - a tower of similar height has gathered upon the bird feeder. I haven't seen any birds or wildlife use it.

Snow is a strange substance, filtered through both current reality and those hazy rose tinted childhood memories. The rosy childhood memories remind us how much fun snow is. It's snowmen and snowball fights and sledging, coming home from school on frost covered days into the warmth.

The adult reality tries to convince us that snow isn't so great. It's leaving the warmth of home to face delays on the tube and the commute to work, it's cold days and dark nights and clearing the driveway. It's cold and wet and inconvenient and it's not as much fun as it used to be.

But today I went sledging. I fell off the sledge at near every opportunity and ended up with snow in virtually every available orifice. It was cold and wet and utterly exhilarating. I also caught a perfect six sided crystal of snow on my glove and held it for a moment before it melted forever.

I had fun.