It might just be the rose colored glasses, but after each storm-of-the century, it seems as if we are blessed with the most perfect of blue sky days. The air may be cold and there is the potential for ice dams in gutters, but there is so much more than that, too. There is beauty everywhere, it is crisp and clean and new.
It is quiet and calm and everyone is out clearing front walks and driveways, a space for the dogs to run. There is help in the air and neighborliness. We are together; even if we don’t speak, there is a feeling of connection. We see it in Social Media, too. “Anyone travel downtown and how are the roads?” with many replies thanking late night workers, clearing a path of safety for the rest of us.
Little kids roll around in the white stuff anticipating a day of sledding, snow angels, forts. Parents encourage them to grab another shovel, there is work to be done as paths are made to mailboxes and fire hydrants, sidewalks, front doors.
Along with waves of hello and calls of “beautiful day,” there are shouts offering help above the sound of snow blowers. Without waiting for a response, neighbors help neighbors, youngers and elders and high schoolers and those who we see less often these days as houses are offices and work is virtual. Two bundled up snow men push snow blowers down sidewalks, stopping to clear snow from a stranger’s driveway, accepting a thank you in return.
There is nothing like a snow storm to bring home the point that we are all in this together. That the inches may become feet and drifts are even more than that, but shovel after shovel, we’ll get through it. Whether a pandemic or a snow storm or just a really long winter, if we connect with kindness, there is nothing we cannot do.
