Rekindle

What is it about that 'first' of a season that makes one reminisce?  The first flower in spring after a long, cold winter.  The first day that you can smell the warmth of the impending summer.  The first fallen leaf that reminds you to start pulling out the long sleeves. The first skinny vanilla latte snowflake and the cold snap that accompanies it.

Skinny Vanilla Latte

So we were visited by Hurricane Sandy as you know and right behind her was a Nor'easter.  Ugh.  I finally found a local weather report that is honest.  "We really don't know...it could be this, this or this----we will keep you posted" (and they do).  Everyone was on edge wondering what this new storm would bring and how it would impact the East. What was certain in all forecasts was that there would be a sharp cutoff at the edge of the storm.  Neighboring towns could see vastly different results.  Our school district sent the kids home early for fear that the cutoff would be beyond us. Well, for us, it was nothing.  A few snowflakes...so few a 'dusting' would be an overstatement.  Just on the East side of the Hudson tho...completely different story.  Plow trucks that were rightfully clearing roads and more power outages were reported.  What a kick in the teeth for so many that had just begun picking up the pieces.

I say all of this while looking out the window at a stunning blue sky light up by much-needed sunlight.  With some of the maple leaves still green, it could be a late summer day if you didn't know otherwise.  The bird feeder I can see is being visited by birds celebrating the break in the gloom and I have just finished the last drop of my first Skinny Vanilla Latte.

Such a a silly thing to mark the season with but those happy red cups at Starbucks......they are my first snowflake. It doesn't have to be a latte.  Anything will do...as long as it's contained in a red cup made with 10% post-consumer recycled fiber.

Ahead of me, I see darker evenings with brighter stars, giftwrap, holiday cards, gatherings with friends to embrace the spirit of the season and a hundred opportunities to break out the camera.  I don't go ga-ga over the actual holiday but all of the things that lead up to them are right up my alley.  Each year I see everything as if it were brand new but enhanced by the rich memories of seasons past.

As I drove home the other evening while the snow was starting to fall, I saw a stone building serve as a backdrop to the flakes falling in the beam cast from a street light and for a second, it was already the week before Christmas.