First things first, thank you for your kind comments yesterday. I still need to respond to them, but I appreciate your encouraging words.
The past few days in Chicago have been snowy and beautiful. The world seems to slow down when a blanket of snow covers the city landscape. Cars drive slower, people walk slower, and everything seems slightly less frenetic. The flakes started falling on Sunday and haven’t really stopped since. From the comfort of our couch (and with warm beverage-filled mugs in our hands), Tim and I watched the flurries turn into a blizzard. Over the past few days, we’ve watched car after car get stuck on the side street that hasn’t been reached by plows just yet. We’ve seen lawn chairs and miscellaneous items propped up in newly-shoveled parking spots to ensure that the spot is ‘reserved’ for whoever put in the hard work to clear the area. We’ve seen (and joined) neighbors bundled up to assist each other and even observed one (crazy) biker attempt to ride his bicycle, getting 2 feet into his journey and giving up, walking his bike back home.
Today I spent a good portion of my day walking around the streets. I navigated my route to avoid snow drifts and walked slowly and cheerfully, stepping in the footprints of other people, hoping to avoid soaking my pant legs. The sun was out and the whole world was bright and reflective.
There’s a certain forced slowness that the snow brings, and I’m relishing it. Eventually the snow will turn to brown slush and the weather will turn bitter cold, but for now I’m enjoying this lovely season.
