“If it’s this cold, there might as well be snow on the ground …”
That’s typically my take on winter once January rolls around, especially on cold, wet days like today.
As a Southerner, I love how snow is disruptive enough to force everything to pause for a day or two, like one collective reset of daily life for us all.
Northern transplants can say what they want about how the South handles winter weather, but you’ve got to admit that the chance to stay home with no obligation other than to watch the snow falling can be a welcome respite during the winter doldrums.
As a kid, I would wake up early to see if schools were closed for the day, closely watching the closings tick along the bottom of the morning news program and willing my school system to be on that list. I’ll never forget that excitement of learning it was in fact a snow day.
As an adult, snow surprisingly became synonymous with Kodi. Snow was her element, and she loved a good snow day— the best reason to go out and play.
Together, we would traipse around the new, stark world of white laid before us the day after a storm—me plodding along while Kodi ran ahead to sniff, pounce and explore, leaving meandering tracks in her wake.
Even in her golden years, the chance to romp in an inch of slush brought out the frisky pup in her.
On the rare occasion that Charlotte gets a proper snowfall, that same childhood excitement stirs, but so does the nostalgia. It snowed last year—the first without Kodi.
I remember looking out the window at the falling flakes and thinking, “She would love this.”
And on days like today, when it’s just too cold for my southern disposition to do much of anything, you will definitely hear me muse, “… might as well have snow on the ground.”
I know Kodi would agree.🦊
