Cocoa and Cashmere

This morning when I looked out the window there was snow. Hardly unusual as this is January in New England. I guess we’ve been lucky. So far no major nor’easters.

When I was a kid I absolutely loved snowstorms. Mom would wake us up to tell us there was no school and we could snuggle back down under the quilt. Later in the day we would go outside to play and to help Dad shovel (he also had the day off, being a teacher himself) No snowblowers back then. When we were just short of frostbite, we’d go back inside to hot steaming cups of cocoa. With marshmallows (I hate marshmallows-just saying). We kids had it easy.

These days I really dislike snow. It’s beautiful, I know. Beautiful to watch. Beautiful to see the still whiteness of it all. Beautiful until you have to go out and deal with the digging, scraping and general movement of the massive drifts. Snowblowers are amazing. What is not amazing is when you have completely cleaned the driveway and the plow comes by pushing it all back into the bottom of the driveway. And now you are late for work.

And then there’s the ice thing. I absolutely hate walking on ice. I have this horrible fear of slipping and falling. I’ve done it. It’s embarrassing. It takes five seconds to walk from my back door to my car. On ice it could take ten. Minutes. OK, now I’m REALLY late for work.

Vermont is different. Somehow, when I go to Vermont, the snow doesn’t bother me. I can walk on it. It’s not the same snow we have in Boston. Really. Or maybe it’s just that the snowplow guys are pros. And why is it that the snow in Vermont doesn’t get all gross and dirty?

One full day after it snows here, the white becomes grey, ugly up to the knees slush.

So you say, why don’t I just pull up stakes and move to a no snow state? Well. It’s the seasons. We all know that autumn in New England is spectacular. And there’s something about cashmere sweaters, hot cider and down comforters. Winter in New England is ok by me.

As long as there’s no snow!