Reuniting with winter memories

. The sky erupted with snowflakes Friday and snow showered down on Los Alamos the whole day

I remember snow storms growing up. When my family lived in Tennessee there was a winter when school was continuously closed due to snow. The string of snow days felt like an out-of-place summer break. At the time, I thought this constant stream of no-school days was a gift but moving to Colorado made me realize that Tennessee was an amateur when it came to snow. A few inches in the southern state seemed to send people into panic whereas Coloradans just shrugged their shoulders. It took something significant to get attention and the massive blizzards would appear. I remember a few times slipping up to my knees in snow in our backyard and one time  my father and I created a small mountain of white powder as we attempted to dig out the driveway. 

Here, any amount of winter activity causes a stir. It is not that snow terrifies people but it causes awe and amazement. Los Alamos' winters have been  mild lately so even a spray  of icy bits in the air can generate excitement and stir hopes that a big wallop of snow is just moments away.

On Friday, we got our wallop. The sky turned a shade of a pearl and just poured out snow. Staring out the window; it appeared to be a silent eruption of ice and cold. The town shut down. The county, the laboratory, the schools all closed up and I regressed back to a childish glee that I received a three-day weekend. And just like as a kid, I got the urge to tromp around in the winter wonderland. I pulled out my hat, gloves and snow boots and took a walk. A few cars roared past me but I could still hear my boots making soft munching noises with each step in snow. The specks of snowflakes would brush against my face. I smiled while taking this trek. It felt like a reunion with some old memory-dusty from age but still very sweet.