The Day After Christmas

Posted to OGR 12/26/2010

Christmas has come and gone for another year. We can all relax a little and enjoy the afterglow of good times spent with family and friends. Like many of us, I get nostalgic this time of year. I remember that our family gatherings continued for a while after Christmas. We usually had aunts, uncles and cousins come home for the holiday week, so the week was filled with family events. Did your family have a “kids table” to handle the overflow at holiday meals? Mine did! And I tell you, we had more fun at our table than the adults had at theirs. It was like lunch in the cafeteria at school. It was not unusual for us to have 10 or more kids at our table. Oh the tales we shared with our out-of-town cousins! I always enjoyed hearing their stories about events in faraway places. Especially stories of snow! Growing up in Florida, I didn’t see snow first hand until I was 18 and moved to South Carolina to go to college. It then that I learned of the time honored southern tradition of going to the store and buying eggs, milk and bread when that rare snow or ice storm threatened. To this day, I don’t know why southerners do that, but if I happen to be in a grocery store when snow is predicted, those shelves are bare.

The thing that surprised me the most about snow showers was how peaceful they are. I have always lived in cities, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of city life. Cars, planes and trains were ever present. When I experienced my first snow shower, I was struck by how quiet it was. I was expecting the howling of the northern wind as depicted in those stories on radio and television. I guess the falling snow deadens the noise around us; the silence is incredible when the snow is gently falling. Nothing can compare to a quiet walk around the neighborhood during a snow shower.

One thing I have never seen is a White Christmas; that is until this year. Last night, it started snowing and as I write this, I pause and look out the window as the snow continues to gently fall through the pines. This is nearly a perfect snow event. It is slightly above freezing so the snow is not sticking to the roads and highways. It’s covering the yard with a thin white blanket of Christmas cheer. The bushes and trees look like a Currier and Ives print. The circle is complete, I have gone swimming on Christmas day in 85 degree temperatures and now I have seen a White Christmas. Oh MY!

Copyright 2010 Rick Wrigley