The Prompt - Snow

I feel the chill fingers of another winter's day skittering across my face. The sky is heavy and leaden, promising snow to come. It hardly ever snows here so it's always an event. I hurry to the shops, buy things that we need for the next few days. Always good to be prepared, that's what my Mum always says. So I trudge home with bread, milk and cheese, a biting wind cutting into my face, forcing me to gulp down icy air.

The sky lowers towards me, heavy with it's burden of snow. Soon it will begin. As a child I loved a snowy day. There seemed to be more of them back then, or is that just nostalgia talking? But I remember walking home from school in the snow, Mum struggling to push my sister's pram through the drifts. The excitement of running a mittened hand along the tops of garden walls and watching the snow tumble on to the pavement.  The fun of making a snowman, or sliding down a hill on a square of cardboard, or snowball fights with friends at playtime. Then the weight of soggy mittens, freezing toes, cold cheeks and noses.

But now I look at the snow filled skies and see only inconvenience, missed work days and disrupted lives. Adulthood brings responsibility and that leads into a loss of fun and wonder. I know that our lives will be disrupted by the snow and this makes me cross. I hate it being cold, I hate the roads being closed, I hate the wet clinging clothing and the snow trampled everywhere.

The first flakes begin to fall. Silent and soft, they catch in my hair and on my eyelashes. The view of the road ahead begins to blur as the flurry quickens and suddenly the world takes on a soft focus.

Later when the snow has settled the world has rounded, softened under a white blanket. The harsh edges are gone and I like this world where everything is mellow and cushioned. A smile spreads across my face and I grab my coat, hat and phone. I stand in the garden and photograph the sleeping world, blanketed with snow and transformed. Then I lie down and make a snow angel, shivering when I stand up and noticing the weight of my coat wit snow stuck to the back. Another photo then I race inside, peeling my layers off and pulling a sweater from the cupboard to put on. In a few minutes I am warming my hands around a mug of hot chocolate and emailing the snowy pictures to my friends. Tomorrow may be a snow day and if it is I will let my inner child out again to play.