Four Letter Words

Hmmmm what can I blog about today? There really isn’t anything going on that I can think of, except snow and hope.


Yeah I know it’s inauguration day and we have a brand spanking new shiny president to drive off the lot. We also got a nice little bit of snow last night that we woke up to. These two things got me thinking about the similarities of the two and eventually about books, or at least a book.

I have always been fascinated with snow. There is no time where I am more at peace than during or right after a snow has fallen. You step out into your yard and it is like a new world. Everything is shiny and clean and beautiful. The mundane has become the magnificent. There are no mud puddles, or dirt mounds. There seem to be no ants or flies. There is no trash or waste. There is only the beauty of the white stuff.

Snow makes the tree limbs take on an appeal they don’t normally have. Makes a chimney with smoke coming out of stir a warm memory. The air seems to be more wholesome, your breath more alive. Buildings seem more mysterious and roads like gateways to other worlds filled with unknown joys.

The world during a snowstorm seems to slow down. Traffic is non-existent; animals lay sheltered in their habitats. Little moves except the snow itself. People seem more content to stay at home with their families, to take time out from their normal routines and swim upstream, do something different. Games are played, hugs are shared, and smiles are plentiful.

Eventually coats are donned, gloves are secured, and sleds are drug out. There are plans of snowball fights, snow angels and sledding at full speeds. Children, teens and adults all take to the ground and participate in these winter activities. Snow reduces us all to childhood in a way. Little bothers seem less important and having a bad attitude more difficult to do.

I simply love snow.

Our country has had a snowstorm, we have a new president and as I write this right now I have no idea what his policies are going to be. What he will end or begin is unknown to me. There is only snow. Many people believe Obama’s presidency holds hope and change some are not as enamored but either way we are on the precipice of something new. Much like the snow makes our normal lives more exciting a new president make our daily politics a bit more exciting.

Eventually, the snow turns to slush and it gets dirty and browned but to me there is always a chance of another layer coming and starting the whole process again. As for Obama, he will soon excite, disappoint, enamor, overjoy, and challenge some of us. Each of us will determine if he remains the pure untouched morning snow or he becomes the dirty slushier snow.


(This all reminded me of C.S. Lewis Narnia books. Snow is a negative metaphor in the books. The land has lain under winter for so long that they have become hopeless but as the kids arrive and bring hope, the thawing begins. My allusion plays out the opposite way but hopefully still makes sense)