Let it Snow!

We have had winter weather in North Carolina. This is when I come alive, my cold blooded limbs stretch with anticipation of what might be on the ground. Tonight it was lovely, soft, snow that covered the southern roads. I love being the first to make my mark in the snow with the crunch of the footfalls. My cool breath lets me know I am alive and thriving!

The crisp air coats my lungs and it feels as if an old friend has come to play. I remember making tracks in my undergrad years, at the University of New Hampshire. I was an aide for a girl with cerebral palsy, and it was during this time I realized all the barriers there were in the world for those with limitations. I remember her electric wheelchair making tracks in the snow, next to my boot tracks. It brings me back to those days when we trudged through mountains of snow to get to our meals. Tonight I trudged through the snow in my neighborhood wearing my rainboots bought for African rain storms, sharing tracks with the deer, enjoying the silent sound of winter. I know I seem whimsical in my writing right now, but that is what snow does to me. I have nostalgia for when snow was measured in feet, not inches. 

It is not lost on me that I will be going to a very hot area of the world. This Mainer is going to suffer in the heat of South Sudan, because the cold is where I am most alive. However, I am prepared. (Girl Scout always.) I have my “lily pad” that I can wrap around me to cool me off. I bought a fan that sprays water- it was much larger than I expected, but I suppose I do need. I am told to pack deodorant that rolls on, because the brick-kind melts. If I am to bring chocolates as a treat, perhaps I choose M+Ms since less likely to melt. Thus, I am prepared for the heat.

I am told that all my documentation and paperwork have been filed correctly. I am now waiting with bated breath for my departure date…I am going north, to Maine, to see my mom and my brother’s family for one last romp in the snow…