Do You Want To Build A Snowman?

DID YOU LOOK OUTSIDE? EVERYTHING’S WHITE! I just woke up and EVERYTHING’S WHITE!

I received this email somewhat early Friday morning from a very excited girl. I messaged her back and told her to forget her homework and head outside before it melted, which she happily obliged. She hurried out, wearing her snow pants and gloves, but no jacket. Guess it wasn’t that cold, though I thought it was!

She stayed out there most of the day, playing in the snow with friends, and sliding down the hill at the nearby church. They came in a couple of times to warm up, drinking hot chocolate and hot apple cider before heading out once again.

I loved the joy to clearly evident in her email this morning (she doesn’t have texting so that’s how she communicates with me during the day), there was no doubt she was excited. I think she knew it was coming, but she still rejoiced. I could just see it if I was at home, her eyes dancing, her body vibrating as she bounced up and down as she announced her discovery, making sure we all saw it.

It is a feeling that honestly I haven’t shared in years. I have come to dread that first snowfall each season. I always worry about driving in it, knowing that I am especially nervous my maiden voyage of the season. I get better as I get used to it again, but I’ve never enjoyed winter driving. I also hate when people go 60 on the highway the first snowfall when really there’s often nothing on the road at all!

So now we have to leave even earlier to go anywhere, unsure of how long it will take to get there due to the roads or the other drivers, and to allow time to scrape off the vehicle. Oh so much fun as your fingers freeze, you get covered in snow, and your feet get wet. Just how I love to start my day.

I was touched by this incident expression of pure joy. She’s often excited about the first snow fall, but even more so this time having it arrive on a day off school. I considered this as I worked, remembering my own frustrating morning, clearing the snow without a scraper.

Now I know many of my friends love snow and would still find joy in this first fall, and I’m happy for them and will watch them from the warmth and comfort from inside. However, her joy brought memories of the excitement I once felt at seeing the blanket of white coating the yard. There once was a time where we would run out and play for hours, building forts and snowmen, or heading to the school to slide down the hills. I remember the forts we built, complete with a ‘couch’.

I began to think about where that sense of joy and wonder have disappeared to. How many things we used to marvel at that we now fail to see? So many things that once brightened our day, that would cause our eyes to sparkle with excitement, now forgotten.

So often we are so busy focusing on our tasks, on where we’re going next. We’ve created lives for ourselves that take us from here to there with no break in between. Our busyness keeps us from truly seeing what’s around us, from taking the time to appreciate. Our busyness is robbing us of the childlike wonder we once had, where simple things would cause us to pause, could take our breath away.

When was the last time you stopped to simply admire something in nature, or truly let yourself go in the excitement of something? How long ago did you last stop to smell the roses on your way past? Pausing to see the beauty that is always around us but we don’t often notice? Chances are it was too long ago…