Last week we received our first good snowfall of the season. It came right around the time I saw a post from another blogger about his love for snow. Well, winter is one of my favorite seasons, not only because there is a distinct lack of heat and humidity, but also because of the glorious effect of snow blanketing the world around me. Our first snow storm, while only a few inches, will probably end of being one of our most beautiful. The snow came a day after we received some sleet and freezing rain that coated the world in a thin veil of ice. As it turned out, the temperature was just warm enough to give the snow a nice heavy texture, yet cold enough for it to actually stay as snow. That magical temperature range, right around 32 degrees, is when the snow sticks to everything in sight, every branch, every straggling leaf still holding on to a tree, every bush, every... you get the point. There is something quite other worldly about driving down a road a day after a snow storm like that and seeing the sun glisten off of the snow covered branches hanging langurously over the road. Perhaps it just beckons the sentiment of a "New England winter" to rise within me, one in which mounds of snow perpetually cover the ground and perpetuate the notion that everything is pristine and perfect. Or it could just be that I love the contrast of brilliant white snow glistening in the sun against the dark branches of the trees. Regardless of the reason, I love snow, I love winter, and I love the cold.
Also last week, as the temperature dropped significantly after our first snow fall, I started an exterior job. Not painting obviously as that would just be stupid, but rather, putting up cedar shingles on the side of a house. It is a small job, one that will only take me about a week, but a job in which I need multiple layers in order stay warm in temperatures that on at least one day last week barely rose about 25 degrees. Unless the temperature was steady at about 50-60 degrees, I will take the cold any day. The freezing temperatures, tingling fingers, and the shiver that sporadically traveled up and down my body are preferred any day over the sweat that pores out of every single one of my pores on a hot and humid day. At least when its cold, you can add or subtract layers of clothing as the temperature rises or falls. When its hot, you can only take off so many clothes before people start to yell at you to put your clothes back on. (Not that I have ever had that problem, just saying). So while some people complain about the cold and are wishing for summer to return already, I am embracing winter and its cold and will cherish them as long as they last. Even our son doesn't seem to mind the cold that much. We had more snow this past Saturday and he loved nothing more than being outside with me, shoveling the snow, throwing it to our dogs, and getting our noses and cheeks rosy red from the cold. He never wanted to go inside and it took everything I had to convince him we should go have a snack, or something, anything to come in from the cold so he didn't get frostbite or a worse cold than he already has. Yes, he does have a cold and yes, we did let him go and play outside in the snow. After all, its winter, he mostly just has a runny nose, and snow is meant to be played in, not just viewed from the inside through a window.
Lastly, this past Friday was named "pay it forward friday" in honor of the Sandy hook tragedy that occurred a year ago. The radio station that I listen to, while normally a more comedic show, was taking calls from people about the nice things that were done to them or the nice things they did for others. It got me to thinking about how often times I don't go out of my way to be nice to others. I am rarely rude (except while driving), I just don't always go the extra mile when I am able to. Perhaps it is the perpetual selfishness that resides just below the surface in me. I don't know, but for me at least, I have to make a conscious effort to go beyond what I normally do and make an effort to, in a sense, "pay it forward". What does pay it forward really mean? To me, it means committing random acts of kindness for complete strangers, those people you run into at a grocery store, or in a parking lot, or standing in line at a Dunkin Donuts. It means having an effect on people to the point where they feel like comitting a random act of kindness for a complete stranger that they run into. The idea is that if you start paying it forward on a regular basis, others will start doing the same and it will have a snowball (ha, pun partially intended) effect and turn the world around you into a better place to live. While its nice in theory, does it actually work? According to the movie with Kevin Spacey from the 90's, it does. In any case, last Friday, in the midst of thinking about paying it forward and how I should do it more, I came upon an easy way for me to start paying it forward. So what I did was when I was in the drive through line at Dunkin Donuts, after I placed my order and I was asked if there was anything else, I said, "Actually, yes, can I pay for the person in front of and behind me?" They had to double check to make sure they heard me correctly, but they said, yes, I could. The person in front me didn't know what to do, but he waved and said thank you. I didn't do it for any other reason than I wanted to do something nice. I figured that what nicer thing to do that was easy, than to surprise people with a free coffee as they pull up to the drive through. So, I want to know, have you ever paid it forward and if you have, what's your story?
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