I think this might be the end of the world as we know it…. at the same time that folks in Maine and Vermont were enjoying balmy temperatures and sunshine, we Texans were getting our first snow in years.
Last Friday James and I were at the grocery store gathering up last minute party supplies for Ryder's birthday sleepover. We walked out with our cart and found ourselves right smack in the midst of a snowfall. You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone, EVERYONE, around us was in silent, gob-smacked awe.
Now you must understand, we haven't seen so much as single flake in six years. SIX! So you must know that this was a show stopper.
Real.
Live.
SNOW!
We raced home and ran outside to soak it in with the brothers.
It was like a quiet miracle. White magic. Not a flake stuck. It was gone as quickly as it came.
Still, Ryder says that his very first snow sighting (and Jasper's too!) was "the best birthday present ever."
I have to agree. There's something so right about seeing the melty wonder of Texas snowflakes and the fleeting days of childhood all swirled together. In that one brief and shining moment you know, you just KNOW, that this is the good stuff.
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Don't forget to get all your entries in on the Julie and Julia contest! I will be drawing our winner tonight!
{ 28 comments }
We were right with you. Saturday morning saw us looking at snow. We played all day. How fun for all of you. Here’s to snow and much more of it.
We got quite a bit this weekend and it was magical too. We almost never get a significant snow before Christmas. Plus we had the pleasure of watching an enormous hawk taking shelter from the storm in our willow tree.
I grew up in Florida and can still recall very clearly the first time I saw it snow there. It was, incidentally, also the last time I ever saw it snow there.
Oh wow! My guys would have loved seeing that.
I’m hoping for both of us that this means there will be more. Our coldest days are usually in late January or early February, so there’s still lots of potential snow days ahead, right?
Florida! Yes I can imagine that snow is even more rare there.
Our oldest two boys were only 1 and 2 when we had our last snow, and remarkably they remember it very well. It makes a BIG impression in these parts, even if it’s gone by noon
Oh! To “play all day” in the snow! I so hope that one day my boys get the chance for real snow play…. fort and snowman building, sledding and skiing, snowball fights… they’ve never done any of that!
We’re two hours from the Mexican border and we had 13 inches of snow last week!!! And it lasted all week too!
Craziness…
it’s funny. even living where we have snow ALL winter, the first fall has that same kind of magic every year.
Here in Friendswood it snowed all day on Friday…the very first snow stuck for about an hour because the flakes were enormous, but as the day continued the flakes got smaller and the snow melted and stopped sticking. About fifteen minutes from here in Pearland were we used to live it snowed a few inches and stuck around over night.
pretty great stuff.
Coincidentally…it was the second year in a row for us to get snow. That in itself was a history breaking record not to mention the fact that it was the earliest snow ever in recorded history in the Houston area. What a great way to get in the Christmas spirit.
Wow, yall got a lot more than we did (in S.W. Austin)! We got a little swirl for about eight minutes and then it was gone. We still ran and played in it for those eight minutes. Too bad the flakes don’t show in the pictures!
I think you conjured it forth with your new (wintry)banner!
In The Great White North (well, our corner of it)we are still waiting for our taste of the winter white…skates, toboggans, skis, hot cocoa at the ready!
We were at school- out on the playground for recess. When it started, our whole second grade (105 kids) just started running around in circles, screaming with glee, with their tongues out trying to catch some flakes. It was really cute, but definitely NOT quiet.
glad for your glimpses of snow…i have always had it, every year of my childhood and life..sometimes I wonder what a snow free winter would be like?
we had the same rare gift of snow happen to us on saturday. living somewhere it doesn’t snow makes me feel like a little kid again when it does happen. and it didn’t stick here either.
i just love your pictures. pure glee!
Oh, how exciting for your boys–well, for kids and grown-ups alike I imagine! I’m in Illinois and I have never been to Texas so how about swapping for a winter?:) You could make snow forts, snowmen, go ice skating and sledding until you can’t even look at snow anymore!
Pure joy! Thank you for sharing that moment. Almost makes me not totally hate the plink-plink of ice falling from the rig on to our cabin top as I type this. Almost.
I live near the Houston area….Pasadena to be more specific and we had a few inches of snow. I have lived here my entire life and have seen snow 5 times. Twice when I was about 8 and the last 3 times in the past 5 years. The snow stayed until the next morning. Everyone here was just as excited.
13 inches???? Really? What is the world coming to?
You know I wondered about that. I can see it though…. we enjoy our first days of summer too. It’s when a season won’t END that there’s trouble
I really don’t know how on earth that works, that the Houston area gets more snow than us, but I’m glad you got to enjoy it!
Here’s hoping for more!!!!
I know, right? It was HARD to get a decent snow picture when nothing would STICK!
It’s early yet though, maybe we’ll get more?
goodness, I imagine it wasn’t quiet at all… but what a fun sight to see, all those kiddos chasing flakes!
chilly, grey, and short. That’s winter without snow. Not nearly as pretty or as much fun, but also not as much work or as lingering. It’s a trade off I guess.
You’re on!!! Seriously, my boys would be packing my bags if I read your comment to them. They are ACHING for real snow!
Oh dear, I do know that feeling… only mine comes from the first truly hot days of summer!
Snow is my favorite thing ever. What a great birthday surprise! (Here’s hoping for a snowy winter. At least for me.)
Awesome! I love the still quiet that comes with snowfall. Enjoy!
The wonder of it all!! Love it!
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