No More Snow! No More Snow!

Yes I am protesting.  I’ve seen enough for one calendar year. Actually I’ve seen more than enough for my taste, period.   Last time I looked I still lived in Atlanta but the fact that it’s snowed twice in the past few months has me bewildered.  This is the third time this winter that we’ve seen “significant snowfall” (I love that meteorologist term) and it’s just not right.

I have to admit, it is beautiful to watch it fall, see it collect in the trees and cover the grass.  There’s a peaceful yet eerie silence and stillness that accompanies snow.  Not just the pristine canvas of the wetness that covers everything in view, but a distinct quietness that blankets a region upon its arrival.

The peace stops there because you can bet your first born that if snow falls in Atlanta at least two school districts will close.  Don’t get me wrong I’m all for the children being safe. Since there probably not even five salt trucks in the state of Georgia if there’s a threat of ice I understand the concern.  Does school really need to close two hours early if it’s 40 degrees outside?  There’s no danger of anything freezing…

 As a transplant to Atlanta I moved here with the expectation that I’d never see snow again.  That’s just the way it should be.   I grew up outside of Washington DC and I can remember the exact point in my life where I decided that snow is bad.  Eighth grade – October - unexpected snowstorm.  I remember it so clearly because it was early October.  Halloween hadn’t come yet and I’m reasonably certain it wasn’t even really cold yet.  My feet still recall being soaking wet and cold because Reebok high-tops weren’t suitable for walking home in 6+ inches of snow; especially when the bus drops you off about a half mile away from your normal bus stop. 

Did I mention it was October?  I believe it was then I knew my destiny was not to live in a climate where snowfall was a regular occurrence.  That one freak snowstorm ruined my appreciation of snow FOR-EV-ER. 

Am I holding on to the past? Yep. 

Am I bitter?  Perhaps when my fingers start to get a little numb and my nose turns red when I’ve been outside in the blustery cold for too long. 

About a month ago was the first “significant” snowfall I’d seen since I’d lived in Atlanta and the first my kids had ever seen.  It was mandatory that we go out and play and my childhood memories came flooding back.  My son was a snowball throwing machine and each time I glanced in my daughter’s direction she was eating snow. Thirty minutes later postcard memories were interrupted when my son starts crying like it was 5 hours past bedtime.  His fingers were so cold they were hurting since his mittens were soaking wet.   That just reinforced my feelings about snowfall. 

So this morning my kids’ school was delayed two hours.  That’s reasonable….  And as I look out my window this afternoon and there’s only a trace of the slushy powdery stuff left, I’m thankful I live in a land of now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t snow.  

 (Shout out to my parents who live in the Washington DC metropolitan area who are still waiting for the mountains of snow to melt after getting a record 50+ inches of snow so far this winter and giggle when I tell them we’re under a winter storm advisory).