I always forget how pretty the snow is when it blankets the earth.

Last night, the hoopla began. It actually began last Thursday after a 4 or 5 inch snow storm. The Worst Storm Of The Year...Next Week! Stay Tunned for Details. Well, after a fun weekend in New York, I could've used a good snowstorm. (P.S. Yes, I saw The Gates. Yes, they were every bit as stupid as the idea seemed and as they looked on t.v.) Plus, my Monday schedule was a fabulous out-of-the-house-at-6am-for-a-conference-home-at-10pm-after -our-Girls'-Basketball-State-Playoff-game day of fun. :) The snow seemed better and better. The snow wasn't falling when I left the house, but the one hour NJ Turnpike excursion to the conference made me dred the drive home. School had been put on a short schedule and our basketball game cancelled. I still opted to leave the conference early as planned.

While the snow had helped me gain some nap time and cut my hectic day in half, I was still hating it. Snow, Snow, Snow...Cold, Cold, Cold. Wasn't spring ever coming?!?!?! How much more of this crap was one person expected to take?!?!?!?! I wanted warmth, tank tops, flip flops, heat, sunshine. At this point, I'd even take a light fall warm spell or a brisk day where I needed a jacket, as long as the sun was shining.

The Turnpike was grey and wet as I left the Ramada in East Windsor. The snow was falling. Little tiny flakes. Grey sky, the leftover accumulation from Thursday's storm all swept to the side as a giant ball of ice, NJ Transit Trucks with plows attached all poised at their service on ramps waiting for some of the nasty weather to stick to the asphalt springing them into action and cars just speeding through the slushy, sloppy mess.

Then came the glowing light of Exit 4. I was so close to home. The snowflakes were bigger now and the snow was falling faster, as if it were falling with the urgency racing toward me as I sped toward my house. Then the phone rang..."Could you just pick up a few things at the store?" I navigated Route 73 and turned off at the shopping center. We may never know (even though the lines told me I was right - it was truly a spot. My lucky day.), but I may have created my own parking spot right near the front door. As I emerged from my giant, "Jenn, take the truck so you'll be safe in the snow" vehicle I looked up and realized how soft and serene the atmosphere had gotten.

An hour or so later, the giant vehicle, lots of bad for you, shopping while you're hungry food and I headed home. As I turned off Route 73, I noticed the beautiful way the snow clung to the trees. The usually ugly, dead winter blob that in the summer is dressed in beautiful grennery, had every little branch illuminated in white snow. Even the tiniest branch was visable to the naked eye of the passerby. The old icy carcass of snowfalls left behind were suddenly massive heaps of pristine white goodness. The purity of angels blanketed the earth as I pulled into our driveway. The intrusion of my footsteps seemed almost sinful as I emerged from the vehicle and into my home.

Tomorrow, the pristine snow will be covered in sand and salt. Pushed aside in piles, like so many others this year. Life will go on and I will be attending a Girls' Basketball State Game at a neighboring school 30-minutes away. Sometimes though, the seasons in our life which bring despair and hopelessness in thinking it will never pass, glimmer pristine with calm, beauty and hope.

Because Of KARE.....

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