A Gift On The Last Day

Today when I woke up and looked out my bedroom window, it was snowing! Snowing really hard! The automobiles, carrying their cargo of humans to work made almost no sound due to the muffling effect of the heavy snow. A light breeze whispered through the branches of the tree outside my window and the sound of the snow falling from the cradling boughs made a soft breath of a thud as it landed on the roof of the porch, just beneath my window.

The scene was, to me, a glimpse of heaven on earth. White! Cold! Soft as a feather! Giving Jack a quick good morning scratch beneath the chin, I jumped out of bed and into my jeans and a heavy sweater. Roz and Jezz greeted me at the door to the kitchen that they call a bedroom, with excited whines and barks. They seemed as excited as I to get out into the snow for a quick romp.

We, the two dogs and I, ran down the stairs to the side door. With leashes attached, boots and coat on, we stepped out into the wonder of the snow. Now, none of us expected it to be as deep as it was. After all, yesterday the driveway was clear all the way to the blacktop. This morning? It was so deep that Jezz, the snow hound, found it difficult to manuver! She and Roz made a game of tucking their noses beneath the snow and rooting along like little wild boars! They looked so silly with their noses covered in snow as they romped around like puppies.

As I looked over the open expanse of white between our house and the neighboring rectory, my heart filled with a sense of peace. The sound of the snow falling and the dogs enjoying life gave me solace. What is it about winter, white snow, crisp air, silence that gives me such joy?

I am looking at this snow as a good omen of the year to come. On this last day of 2008, a year that has seen many changes in my life, I was given the gift of one of the things that I truly love. Snow.

May you all have a happy and joyous New Year!