First Snow

I'm proud to say that we survived 2016 without living in snow.

We saw it a couple of times - last January in Maryland and at Thanksgiving in Bulgaria, but it hasn't actually snowed in a place where we lived since we lived in Cleveland. We live in a pretty mild climate here in the western part of Germany. I don't know much about weather patterns, but I'm told our weather comes from the west, so it's got a similar climate to the Netherlands. There are parts of Germany that get very very cold and snowy, but I am quite thankful to not live in one of them. I'm perfectly fine living in a place where the median temperature in December only hovered between 30-40 degrees fahrenheit (and I still don't understand celsius).

Anyway, it snowed, and I'm happy to say that it waited until the new year.

I was filling up my water bottle getting ready to go to bed late, when I looked out the window and noticed that the sky had that "snow sky" look to it. The ground has been covered in a layer of icy frost for a few days, so I wasn't sure at first if the thin white layer was snow or frost, but I looked at the nearest street light and confirmed that something thick and white was floating down to the earth. "Carson!" I hissed like something was wrong (because I'm mean), "come here, quickly! Shhh!" He rushed out of bed and tiptoed over to the window looking for the animal I was surely looking at. "Is it - is it SNOWING?" He whisper-yelled.

Since November, he's been checking the weather for snow and is constantly talking about how it really is the optimal temperature to snow. He'll announce the chance of snow when that's listed too (there was a 20% chance this day so I guess there was something to what he said!) He hurried back into the bedroom and began throwing on sweatpants and shoes and his coat; "I'm going to go out. I have to see it!" So I threw on a coat and boots over my pjs too and we headed out.

There was more snow on the ground than I'd expected, fluffy wet stuff that was maybe only two inches deep. Since it was really late (after midnight) when I'd spotted it, our footprints were the only ones out there. It felt really special. We headed for the bridge, where the night before there had been so much merriment, and stood there taking in the falling snow and the peace and quiet it brought to a sleeping world.

Then Carson built a little snowman and I began reflecting on how maybe I'll start liking snow again since I won't have to drive in it (not super likely because I also don't like how it makes everything wet, and I just generally hate being cold).

It really was a great start to 2017.