Nov 15 2002
Love/hate: Snow
Love/hate for Friday, November 15, 2002
Snow
I think snow is like a beauty treatment for the landscape, covering everything with a layer of sparkling white and cloaking the flaws. And since I love the pretty, I also love snow, especially this time of year.
Getting older does seem to make a girl nostalgic. As the holidays approach, my thoughts turn back to my childhood. We lived in upstate New York, on 5 acres of land not far from Cornell, where my father was then working. The land we lived on included a pine forest, so we cut our own Christmas tree each year. In my memory, there was always snow at Christmas, and after we cut the tree, we’d pull it home across the snow, the sharp scent of pine sap mingling with the crisp snow.
We’d often go to my mother’s parents for Christmas. My grandparents lived in a big Victorian house with a double parlor divided by pocket doors. They would keep the doors closed until Christmas morning, when they would be thrown open to reveal the tree (and presents!) in all its glory. From the front door, which was only used by company, you could look down the street to the town square, where the village Christmas tree was all lit up. It was magic.
So even though I have lived in California for many years, and would never even consider living anywhere else, I miss snow at the holidays. It just doesn’t seem like Christmas without snow. But one of the great things about living in San Francisco is that all you have to do is drive for a couple of hours and voilà! Snow! But you don’t have to deal with it day after day, all winter. Just when you feel like it. Why does anyone live anywhere else?