The One I've Been Waiting For

Ever since moving back to Virginia, I've said that part of my reasoning was because I missed snow. I didn't just miss seeing a few flakes falling and accumulating an inch or two. I've missed big snow. I've missed the kind of snow that I used to see as a student at Bluefield College.

I know that my expectations are a little unrealistic, seeing as how I didn't move back to Bluefield. I moved to Roanoke. I moved to Radford. I moved to Blacksburg. These aren't places that see the kind of annual snowfall that "Virginia's Tallest Town" receives.

For the last week or so, meteorologists have been predicting a major snow storm for pretty much the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. I'm always hesitant to believe the forecasters when they say we can expect a lot of snow. I don't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed. But when the forecast models claimed we could see anywhere from 6 to 18 inches of snow, I couldn't help but get a little excited.

In anticipation of the coming storm, the school systems in the area either canceled or released their students early yesterday. My school did the latter, letting the kids go 3 hours earlier than normal. I got home around 1pm and opened my blinds. I sat in my room and watched. It wasn't long until the snow began to fall. It fell hard and fast.

I don't remember ever seeing the snow pouring out of the sky so quickly before. Within the first hour, it appeared that there was already an inch on the ground. The roads were covered. From my window I could see a snow plow moving down the street and couldn't help but think how futile that act was at that point. After all, the snow was falling faster than any plow could clear the streets.

Early this morning, I went downstairs and looked out the front window. Our yard, the street, my car... all covered. Without actually measuring, I'd estimate a foot, maybe more, of snow covering the neighborhood. As I stared outside, I smiled and thought about how this is the kind of snow I've been looking for.

It's the kind of snow that makes the whole world quiet. You step outside and the sounds that you expect to hear just aren't there. Part of it is because people are generally smart enough not to try going out in the stuff. But part of it is also because all that snow just softens everything.

I'd love to tell you that I'll be using my snow day to go out and play like I did as a kid. I'd love to say I've got a big hill in mind that I'll drag a sled to so I can go down faster than I should. I'd love to say that I'll be building a snowman. But I don't have snow boots. I don't have a sled. I don't have