First Snow

The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a Hemlock tree Has given my heart A change of mood And saved some part Of a day I rued. Robert Frost I feel this way about today. It has been so gloriously white. I know that by the end of the season, most dread the snow. I often dread it myself toward the end, but there is something truly magical about the first snow. A marking of time that demands all stop and take notice that a new season of life is beginning. I love that. I think God gave us snow to demand a slow down once and again. Today, I feel somewhat entirely overwhelmed with life. My Saturdays are so precious and so short. I play wife on Saturdays. I clean: clothes, house, dishes. Run errands for: food, bills, everything. And NEVER do I get everything done that I want to. This week has been a particularly demanding week at school. I had the frist draft of my brief due Tuesday. That turned out to be 27 pages. I had a final for my research class on Friday. My medicine dosage was increased yet again. All of these taken together meant that this morning, I walked into a front room littered with nearly every dish we owned, dirty, waiting for me to clean it. I have been milking my last pair of undies since Wednesday. I knew I just needed to get to today and I would finally be able to do some laundry. It turns out, when I say some, I mean nearly every piece of clothing we own. So, my day has been nearly consumed with household chores that just take so much time. I looked at the clock about twenty minutes ago realizing that I hadn't even so much as cracked a book for school this weekend, and I felt so inadequate. I wondered why I was doing this whole thing again. Sometimes I feel so wholly torn between everything I have committed to, I wonder if I will be able to actually keep it all together in the end. I honestly don't know the answer to that, but I do know that last night as I closed my eyes I drew back our curtain a little so that I could see the snow falling down, and I knew that today was going to be a good day. There is so much to be learned from this tiny miracle. Snow is not rushed, snow patiently falls forming each flake uniquely. Snow blankets the earth making even the largest mud pile look like a pinacle of mountainous splendor for a moment at least. Snow brings magic to children's eyes. Snow makes the world go slower, take more time getting where we need to get and really deciding if our needs are needs or not. I love the snow, especially the FIRST snow, and today, I really needed something to remind me that everything has its season, and that my very BEST really is good enough for what's REALLY important.