We live between two mountain ranges and that gives our view special beauty. I'm taking this gift of beautiful white stuff as a sign, a portent, so to speak, of a good year to come.
Since the snow fell during the early morning hours of night, I didn't get to enjoy my favorite part of snow...watching it float gently down to earth and slowly cover all the ordinary in white. I'd watch it build and build until a familiar hedge became a blob of unrecognizable pure white powder. When I was young and living on the East Coast where snow was a common occurrence, I could sit for hours non-end on the sofa with the drapes held open wide and just watch it fall. It was peaceful, safe and beautiful as long as I knew my family was home. I remember some nights, however, where the stress of waiting for my Dad to get home from work during a blizzard would steal the joy away, but it quickly returned once I saw his headlights come down the street. Somehow I always knew they were HIS headlights...
Even though I spent nearly 30 years of my life on the East Coast watching and playing in snow, this year, in this location, there is something more in it's beauty. Something the Garden State didn't offer...snow covered mountains out my front window and my back window. It's breathtaking.
Now I ask that each of you take special care this New Year's Eve. Don't drink and drive. Don't even consider it. Don't text and drive. Your loved ones would prefer to hear from you once you've reached your destination safely than to have you jeopardize yourself and others in a stupid attempt just to let them know you're stuck in traffic. Use the AAA free-ride services available in your area should you find yourself tipsy. And if it's not available in your area and you MUST make it home, call someone you know to be sober. They'll appreciate your being smart and safe rather than visiting you in the hospital or worse. Even better would be to plan to sleep over wherever you go, should you go out at all, and travel safely once sober the day after.
Most of all, I wish you all a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!