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As a child in sunny California, I longed for snow. A white Christmas. Real snowflakes on Valentine’s Day. Something. But year in and year out, I waited in vain.
My best friend, Kathy, shared the same passion, so one year we set up a “snow watch.” Spending weekend sleepovers together, we made an agreement: one of us would take the first half of the night awake, watching for snow. The other would get up at 3 AM for the second watch. Not being a night person, Kathy always wanted to sleep first, watch later. So I dutifully stayed up until the wee hours keeping guard over the bedroom window, waiting for those first snowflakes.The problem came when, at 3 AM, Kathy wouldn’t wake up, despite my efforts to roust her out of bed. The next morning she would apologize, and we’d try it again the next night. Know what? Kathy never did take over the second watch. But I kept taking the first shift anyway, believing that “this time would be different.” What’s that saying? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result? ha ha.
Since those days, we’ve moved north. My childhood disappointment is now replaced by white winter days in Washington and my snow loving daughters. If snowflakes fall, they are out in it! The next time the forecast indicates that a snow watch is in order, will they follow through with a second shift? I’m not sure, but that’s ok because I’m not going to take the first!
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