snow, not just another four letter word

when the phone rings before six in the morning it means there has been an accident or tragedy of some kind

today the 'tragedy' was snow

snow...
on the ground...
in tennessee...

not unheard of, but not usual enough to be familiar & so things slow to a halt as we all stare at the beauty falling around us
& wait for the call

the ringing phone brings a cheery (all too cheery for the hour) message of the laughable (to the mrs.) school cancelation
that inevitably occurs when anyone on the news (weather professional or not)
dares to predict
snow
even the slightest possibility...

need she remind you that this place is not her home? (in the spiritual sense & the literal sense for which she now refers) even if it's comfortable now, it is not her home.

home is cattle & corn - as far as the eye can see
where winters draw on forever & snow covers everything
with wind so sharp & bitter it's sting stays vivid in memory
& where school is on - no matter the weather

& even if the mrs. will never understand how
two powdery inches of snow
(that will be gone by the days end)
can amount to the need to close school

she is learning to embrace & enjoy it