Snow Upon Snow
As I wrote about last year, I love snow. I’ve always been a sucker for a forecast that teases a big storm, and I’m not immune to disappointment if the forecast ends up being a bust.
There is something about the common experience of snow that makes me feel better about humanity. On a dog walk earlier today, Daisy and I stopped to chat with six different friends and neighbors about the snow–and what we like and don’t like about it. And, of course, the snow was a gateway to other topics, helping us to have conversations that otherwise would not have happened.
Snowstorms are often a forcing function to make us slow down and be more intentional about how we live. Snow usually means our plans need to be changed, delayed, or cancelled. It forces us to be present and respond to what is rather than focused on what we wanted or hoped for.
It also requires us to be careful as we walk, drive, or bike around. We need to be in the moment and not distracted by our brain’s chatter or the endless well of (mis)information, messages, images, and doom that our phones bring into our lives.
Nature reminds us that it is supreme, not the algorithm.
And, in my opinion, the snow is just plain pretty.
Lucky for me, we’ve had more snow in Provincetown so far this winter than we’ve had probably in the past few winters combined. A few days ago, we had almost 48 hours of nearly non-stop snow, giving us many, many inches, drifts of several feet, and piles of 10 feet or more in parking lots and the end of streets.
We still can’t open our front door due to the drifting; currently, we’re just shrugging our shoulders and ignoring this fact, but eventually it will need to be reckoned with.
But the snow will all be gone before we know it, of course. For now, I’m doing my best to slow down and enjoy all the good that is here, right now, outside my door.
