Nashville usually gets only one major snowfall, enough to blanket everything, every winter. That’s just enough to keep it exciting. In places that get more snow more often, where it’s measured in feet rather than inches, it’s routine, something people are prepared for. Here it shuts things down. A day before it snowed I went into one of the giant home supply stores and walked by a handwritten sign that said “No Snow Melt, No Snow Shovels”. Fortunately I was looking for something else. I also went to the grocery store where shelves were cleared, people stocking up on bread, eggs, and milk. Fortunately I was looking for something else.
It started overnight so we woke up to a world silent under snow, tree branches already hanging low, the street empty. By noon people were out, the first footprints breaking the swaths of white. Sleds came down from overhead storage in basements, kids sliding up and down the street. Their laughter sailed through the crisp, clear air and was absorbed by the snow. Cold weather keeps us inside but snow calls to us.
When nightfall came the world took on a lavender glow.
By the second day the reality starts to settle in. Plans have to be changed. It won’t last but there’s no way to know exactly how long it will last. I check the supplies, calculate how many days we might be able to get by. I probably should have gotten more laundry detergent but I was looking for something else. A path needs to be made from the door to the yard so the snow that’s already tamped down won’t melt and freeze into a skating rink. Cars are moving slowly up and down the road which is too clear now for sledding. Birds chirp their discomfort. The snow I see falling isn’t coming from the sky; it’s shaken from tree limbs and blown from roofs.
Soon things will go back to normal. Snow will turn to slush, slush will turn to puddles. For now, though, snow has changed everything.
Snow is so pretty to look at but such a pain to deal with!
mydangblog recently posted…Deer Me
Again, I think Nashville is getting more snow than Boston this winter. When I drove in to work on Monday, I had my new slip-on cleats for my boots, but when I got out of the car in Boston the snow and ice were gone. Maybe things will go back to normal but at this point I don’t even know what normal is. Thanks for another cool post, Chris.