:Snow:

My name is Samuel, and I love snow days.

I know, there are a good majority of people out there who will hate me just for having said that. But it's true. I love being snowed in.

Maybe it's the quiet that comes with a heavy blanket of snow--the fact that noise seems to fall flat in front of you, travelling only inches before falling to the ground.

Maybe it's the white--the bright, unblemished canvas on which the sun plays and dances, and everything which passes leaves its unique mark--its personalized print--a signature in time.

Maybe it's the softness...the world's edges blurred for a while, made downy and less harsh by the abrasion of icy cotton.

Maybe it's the demands snow makes: 

     Slow down!

          Watch where you step!

               Take a look around you!

                    Hibernate a while!

Maybe it's the allure...its sultry drifting from the sky...the casual, free, unapologetic covering of anything it touches...the mesmerizing motion of a million frozen molecules making magic momentarily tangible.

Maybe it's the fact that I was born in the winter...in Canada...during a blizzard. Or the fact that I grew up tobogganing, skating on frozen ponds and canals, Christmas tree hunting in knee-deep drifts, drinking hot chocolate on lazy, long-night snow rides, tapping maple trees with friends and boiling the sap down around a cozy fire, bundled up against the cold, despite the fire's warmth. Building snow forts during recess, and having massive, school-wide snowball fights. Making igloos in the backyard. Going out snowplowing with my dad. 

I loved being sent home early from school because of the snow. Or not having to even go in the first place! Nothing beats that as a kid. And as an adult, you never get snow days. Unless you make them.

No matter how you cut it, I love a good, solid snowfall. 

Go ahead and disagree. I'll just stay over here, enjoying the magic of winter, while we still have winters to enjoy.

My name is Samuel, and I love snow days.