The First Snow

I found this picture online yesterday morning and was completely awestruck. I don't know why this picture moved me as much as it did but here it is

The photographer was David Kaplan.

I woke up this morning and took this photo

This photo brought with it a handful of mixed feelings. The intial feelings were childlike at best. That first snow, no matter how many years go by, always leaves me a little delighted with butterflies in my stomach. But when I stand there and look at the scene long enough, those same butterflies begin to die off and turn rancid. The same snow that used to mean snow days, snowball fights, snowmen and Christmas, now mean hazardous driving, cold wet shoes, and shoveling the sidewalks and driveway. The years of growing up start to eat away at the child inside of you.

The challenge that I am issuing myself this year is to take every snow-laden scene and view it like that first picture. And I challenge everyone else to do the same. Don't see the burdens; see the colors and wonders. Let the butterflies in your stomach run their course a little longer than usual. It's well deserved. We're only on this earth a short time. There is no need to let responsibilities and burdens run rampant for ever minute of every day.