Snow Days

There is just something about the snow…

It’s such a simple, earthly thing, and yet somehow it always feels special.

The snowflakes fall and it’s as if life is suddenly moving in slow motion. I could watch it fall for hours. Just stare up at the sky as a million flakes fall around me. Every so often I’ll pick out one individual flake and watch it float through the air on it’s slow journey to the ground. Watching silently as it slowly covers everything in a soft, pillowy, white blanket.

Looking out over a fresh snowfall, I can’t help but find new beauty in things that on any other day would seem ordinary. Somehow snow breathes alluring new life into the familiar. Somehow it makes even the mundane sparkle. Suddenly, everything feels fresh and exciting. It’s almost like the the snow has given us a clean slate.  

What I love the most though, is how snow makes everything seem still. Quiet. Peaceful. It’s almost ironic that this cold white blanket can somehow warm you up with an undeniable feeling of calm… As if when it comes, nothing else in the world matters. It’s just here and now; this special moment that feels as if it’s literally frozen in time. It’s a good feeling.

For me there is an intense comfort in the wonder of snow. Maybe it’s the little kid in me, but I always get excited when it comes. Sadly, it’s rare to have snow fall in Vancouver, and I always find myself longing for it. Waiting and hoping for it to come.

This winter we hadn’t so much as seen one flake, so this past weekend we went in search of snow. We took a drive a few hours up North to where we knew we would find it. And find it we did…

Snowshoes in tow, we hiked in a world of fluffy snow capped mountains and trees. When we got to the top, we found the usually emerald green lake, frozen and completely covered in a sheet of snow too beautiful to disturb. It was a sight to see.

Snow fell softly on our cheeks as we made our way back down, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t stick my tongue out to catch a few flakes. That was when the calm really set in for me.  Life is good.