The Gift of Snow

Last Thursday, Washington, DC and the surrounding metro area enjoyed a surprise snow. The area, of course, is incapable of handling the snow due to the infrequency of 'snow events' so the Government shut down... as did I. Through my window, I could see the likes of enough snow on the ground for fun; I bundled up and headed out to play. I quickly learned my running trails weren't plowed... and to see the Potomac River in all its glory, I was going to have to trudge through eight plus inches of sloppy, heavy snow. So trudge I did. I would have been a lot better off building a snowman or befriending some youth for a round or ten of sledding.

There was just something so magical about walking around my city covered in blankets of fresh, white snow. The snow is inconvenient and unpredictable. It was yet another day--in this very long winter--of forced pause.

And despite the rising temperatures, beginning almost immediately after the snow fell, we still have tall banks of snow everywhere... and each time I head out for a run or walk, I am slowed by patches of icy, snow-covered sidewalks. 

I do want to remember this gift though. The frozen precipitation allowed for a softer, purer perspective on the otherwise familiar.