snow day

Yesterday I left Abilene at 5:30 AM headed toward the metroplex in a school bus with 40 kids to go to a Genetics conference. There was a light rain and it was cold, but not freezing. By the time we reached Ranger Hill there was an inch of snow on the road and it was snowing heavily. We decided to turn back. Yes, it was a disappointment and an inconvenience for the rest of the day, but it was the right thing to do. Sometimes the right thing to do is difficult, inconvenient, a disappointment to others. Later it became apparent that north Texas had the heaviest snowfall in recent history. Good call. We don't get snow that often in the big country, but when we do I'm reminded of it's effect on our perception of our world. As I look out the window this morning at the five inches of snow that cover my yard I note that even the simplest of naked tree branches have become an artform - unique and temporary. The filth and the trash, the mud and the horse manure are covered in a blanket of white that covers the ugly parts of our world and for now, makes everything 'the same'. Sounds familiar, huh. KP and I went to New Mexico in October to hopefully experience a dusting of first snow as we hiked the Pecos Wilderness. Maybe that was subconsciously why...every now and then we all need to have the experience of being immersed in something as white as snow. Praise GOD.