Saturday, 3 December 2005 - Snow's peace and calm

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for the snow's peace and calm.

The winter storm arrived very early this morning. I never heard its footsteps. I never felt its icy breath as it descended upon our valley. I was sleeping, perhaps dreaming while it moved into our realm. As quiet as Carl Sandburg's fog. On little cat paws.

It's nearly 4 PM. Time for our afternoon walk. The three of us trudge through a good six inches of powder, on our way to the park. T, our chocolate Lab, leads the way. He is a creature of winter (December 18 is his birthday). With his short but very dense coat, he endures winter's bitterest cold and wettest snow without complaint.

Because it's snowing, I pull my jacket's hood carefully over my head and secure it under my chin with the velcro fastener. My husband, S, wears a winter hat with ear flaps. Years ago, we named the hat ,"dog ears," after our first dog, Y. It's cold but not windy. I prefer zero degrees and no wind to zero degrees with the wind chill - both represent totally different experiences and comfort levels.

We are the first ones to navigate the park's circumference in quite a while. But we don't mind. T is an expert trailblazer and confidently leads us along the familiar path. We manage three laps or about one mile. The outside world is colored in gray tones - dreary silhouettes against a pure white backdrop.

T loves to romp in the open field so we run with him for a few minutes. Because the pristine whiteness extends in all directions, I lose my bearings, my sense of place, for just a moment. Now I know how it feels to be lost in the desert - sand everywhere and no point of reference to indicate distance or direction.

We laugh as T entertains us with his crazy snow dances. He loves winter, the cold weather and the sense of peace and calm that comes with each snowstorm. So do I.

S remarks that if the snow continues to fall through the night, we'll go snowshoeing tomorrow. Oh, happy day.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.