First Snow

I remember it well, waking up as a child to the first snowflakes of winter, that rush of wonder of a changing season, the forward glance of what’s to come: ice-skating, warm cocoa from a metal thermos, sledding, building snowpeople with crooked raisin smiles and funny hats, tipping back your head and letting the fresh, cold flakes melt on your tongue, pulling icicles off of porches and, yes, daring to take a taste. Of course, as a parent, the view changes: dread of drudging up all the winter gear, having to figure in an extra fifteen minutes for each coming and going and the drive in-between, the snow chunks falling from shoes and clothes, melting and turning dirt into mud in the front hall, the cold that becomes colder and the endless hunt for warmth.

Ah, to be a child again, full of amazement and in awe of the year’s first, beautiful snowflake!