Thursday, December 06, 2012

Another milestone

Yesterday I saw new snow for the first time in my life. The only snow I had seen so far was on the slopes of Kulu, a hill station in India. It was rather sad and grey as it was several days old.

Yesterday, when my husband woke up and went to the window, he looked at the thermometer and said, "Yes, my suspicion was right. The thermometer is broken. It shows 7 degrees even though there is snow outside."

I was still half asleep, and so did not actually jump out of bed, but groggily tried to process this bit of information. Say, what?! Snow? And he is talking about it as if he's discussing any old weather. Well, a bit of snow is any old weather for a Lithuanian, I'm sure. After all, they don't consider it to be a cold day if the mercury does not dip below -15 and anything less than a foot at least of snow in the front yard is just a piddling bit of moisture. But for me, it was a world event. As soon as my brain rose above the fumes of sleep, I came to the window and peeped out. It was not much, just a soft layer on the rooftops and cars, plus a light sprinkling on the grass. Nevertheless it was thrilling. There was a sparkle, either in the air or in my eyes.

It is a blessing to be able to experience things for the first time constantly. And an even greater blessing to feel the unsullied delight in these experiences.

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