Jack Frost

They're predicting snow this evening for down here in Des Moines. This would be our first for the season. Traditionally I would say that I'm not even remotely excited about this. I've never been much of a snow fan. Of course it is pretty. Of course it can be fun (love snowmen and snowball fights). But then you have to leave the house. And that's not so fun. 

I have to admit the mere suggestion of snow makes me want to pull on my slippers and sweaters. I want to break out the hot chocolate and curl up on the couch with a book. In winter I become a homebody. I have tended to hibernate as much as possible in the winter. It's not the cold that gets me. I can handle the cold. I just hate to drive in the snow. 

I come home from work after having driven home slow enough to anger the people behind me. And once home I don't normally leave the house unless Jeff is driving. I hate to drive in snow. Hate it and am scared of it. I would go to work and back but that was normally the limit. 

But this last year really tested that fear. We had over 70 inches of snow in Des Moines. Normally we get just a little over 30. I started the winter with this terrible fear of driving. I would lose sleep over the mere suggestion of snow. I was scared of sliding, I was scared of being stranded, and I was scared of getting into an accident. It's strange that as you do something day after day, suddenly it doesn't look so scary anymore. The difference is that last year I didn't offer myself any options. I went to work every day, except one.  

This year I'm actually okay with the idea of snow. Tomorrow will be pretty. I'm sure there will be big white flakes floating lightly from the sky. It won't stick to the roads and it will actually make me start to think that winter is coming. The 70 degree temps the last week, had made me start to doubt. But winter is coming. And for the first time, this year, I don't need to hibernate. I'm sure I will a little. I have a lot of writing I want to get done, I have books waiting to be read, and a subscription to Blockbuster that often goes to waste. I'll easily fill my time. Tomorrow I'll try to post pictures of the snow. And I'm actually hopeful we get some.