Snow has begun falling here but not in the sort of volume that would impress anyone who grew up with a traditional winter.
I am a Californian living in Texas and not one who went skiing every year like so many others I knew. I didn’t see snow in person until I was about seven and I had no idea what it would really be like.
My father and I drove up to Big Bear for a weekend with Indian Guides It was dark when we arrived and I was entranced by all the snow I saw around me.
Before we entered our cabin I ran to the snow and jammed my hands in to my forearms. For a moment I let them sit in there and all of a sudden the cold got to me,
It made me cry.
Dad shook his head and asked me what I expected would happen. He was another native Angeleno but spent a chunk of his childhood living in Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Snow wasn’t a mystery to him and though he could be exceptionally warm and protective there were moments where he was happy to let you learn by experience.
And you might get a look that suggested you should of thought before you acted.
He told me to go wash my face off and shook his head when I yelled at him about the water being cold.
I don’t remember what we talked about before I went to bed but I remember him being extra attentive in the morning and making sure I was buttoned up and warm.
Don’t Make The Same Mistake Twice
Got Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah playing as I share these thoughts with you. Memories of conversations with the old man floating through my head.
Went outside and sprayed some de-icer on the younger Mr. Wilner’s windshield. He’ll probably have to redo it in the morning and given he’ll leave for his office before I wake he won’t have any clue I did it.
And that is ok, I don’t mind.
It felt good doing a little something to help even if it will have to be done again.
Stood outside in a pair of crocks, sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Weather app says it is 12 out and that it feels like -2.
Looked up at the sky and told it that I may be a desert guy who loves the beach but I also come from a line of people who grew up with snow.
Besides time in Buffalo and Toronto during the dead of winter helped teach me a few things about cold. But let’s be clear, I was aware of how long I was outside and at best it was 10 minutes, nothing to write home about.
Felt a little warmer than when we packed the car and sent my daughter back to college.
****
Used my bare hands to brush some of the snow off of of the front and rear windshields and thought about that seven year-old boy.
Wondered if he would have cried if he had been prepared for the cold and then I thought about the 17 year-old who walked a mile or so through the Toronto snow without a hat.
He didn’t cry, but he wanted to pull his ears off of his head. Never occurred to him how much they could hurt from the cold.
I sometimes tell people I may be a little slow but eventually I catch on and I usually don’t make the same mistake twice.
There have been a few painful experiences where I asked myself if I really did understand what I was saying.
Moments where I got hit in the same place or poked again the same tender area but I always determined I did so knowing what would happen.
That was different.
It wasn’t repeating the same thing expecting a different result but undertaking something painful because that was what was required to try to get to the next place.
Makes me think of One Slip or Learning to Fly. Makes me wonder if I should have included some of these thoughts in the last post.
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Another Sunday night and it is time to wrap this up because I have some big stuff going on and I need to make an effort to get to sleep at a reasonable hour so that I can be sharp tomorrow.
So if you need more reading you can take a look at below or wait and see what the next update shares.
- 8,311,968 Reasons You Won’t Read This Post
- Some Relationships Can’t Be Tanked
- Will I Wait Forever
- The Letters I Write To You Are Read By…All
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