Unexpected Snow

This morning Dan’s phone was ringing incessantly. From about 6:30am to 6:45am we received three phone calls from Piper’s elementary school.

“What is going on?” I groaned as the cell phone message tone started dinging. “Check the messages!” and I rolled back over to get at least 15 more minutes of sleep before my alarm went off.

“Two hour delay due to snow,” Dan startled me awake.

“What snow?” I rolled over towards the window and pulled back the curtain. The unusual brightness the comes from sunrise on a newly whitened world made me pull the covers back up around my ears.

“Snow” I breathed into my pillow.

There is something magical about waking up in a world changed by weather. Suddenly, the impossible seems possible, and the mundane is transformed into the fantastic. Snow, and especially ice, coating the trees, disguising the dirty, broken, and old, making things glittery, changing the smells and sounds, adding excitement and danger to the world.

It also makes me want to stay in bed.

By midmorning the snow was gone. The last remnants dissolving in the shadows, like a familiar dream forgotten.

Dreaming of Tsunamis

Last night I dreamt of tsunamis. I dreamt that I was on a small island with a group of people that I didn’t know. It was dark and stormy and the ocean waves were crashing dangerously on the rocky shore. There were kids playing near the water and I kept trying to get them to move back from the sea into the jungle. I was screaming, but no one could hear me over the waves. Suddenly the sun began to rise and the water became curiously calm and oozed away from the land. Out and out it went. Some sort of collective consciousness made us all realize that this strange wave behavior meant tsunami and we all started running across the island away from the water.

We jumped onto a wooden boat that reminded me of a mini Noah’s Arc and as the wave came back in we floated safety further inland. As the waves retreated, we all knew there would be more, so we jumped into a field which was lower than the rocks in front of it. As we lay on our bellies in the grass, we could see the waves surging back towards us. As the waves crashed into the rocks in front of us, they dissipated into a fine mist that rained down over us, cooling us from the tropical sun.

Best Birthday, Ever!

This entry marks the official end to my 32nd birthday week. And what a week it was. Last Friday, Dan and I were settling down for a mellow night, when there was an unexpected knock at the door. Dan walked over to see who it was. He turned around and walked right back into the room. “It’s for you.” he announced and as I got up to see who it was, my amazing friend Kym, who lives in California, leaned in to say, “hi!” Have you ever had the experience where someone you know and love but who lives far away shows up at 8pm on a Friday evening with no warning? I was fairly mind blowing. Kym’s arrival marked the beginning of what became an amazingly fun birthday week.

On Saturday we went to the roller skating rink to celebrate my rockin’ n rollin’ roller derby birthday. It was so much fun, and I only wiped out once! After an hour or so, (roller skating is a lot of work) we headed back to our house for drinking, food and merriment. I got a new stump! Dan made a fire in the fire pit, and we played Guitar Hero, all of my favorite things. It was a great party.

Eleanor Bruisevelt will knock you down!

On Monday, my favorite brother in law, Matt, arrived on the 6:30pm train from Philadelphia. The house was full of people, which I love. Over the week, we played Catan, and Apples to Apples, and cards, and hung out. It was very fun.

Kym went back to California on Wednesday, and Matt left on Saturday. Last night Chris and Phil came over and we played poker for hours. I was the first time I had ever played poker, and I am looking forward to winning back come of the chips next time!

All and all, a wonderful week; if this keeps up, 32 will be the best year yet.