Winter Arrives

Winter came a few days early this year, blanketing the Island in snow and forcing the world to momentarily pause and consider frivolous things like sleds and hot cocoa. I was out in the driveway at seven, shovel in hand, ready to make short work of the blowing and drifting snow while getting a full-body workout. J and D came out with me but swiftly retreated to the warmth of the living-room when they discovered that it was fairly challenging to walk through drifts that came up to their armpits. In their eyes it was better to wait until daddy created some serpentine paths through the driveway, rather then explore the wilderness of the back yard unaided.

While watching the snow pile up around the windows late Saturday I was resigned to skipping my Sunday run-the gym was probably closed and the roads looked a little dicey-but the town’s monster plow eventually made it down our street and as I was finishing shoveling out the car, a solitary runner trotted by in the snow. I finished the driveway and laced up my sneakers. I headed out for five blissful miles on quiet roads, unmolested by traffic other than the occasional truck with front-mounted plow. Running on snow is akin to running on sand, albeit a touch easier since the snow on the road was already fairly well compacted. The physical exertion was minor compared to the sheer joy of hopping around in the white stuff. I hope we get a lot more storms this season.