A Child-like Whimsy

In Middle Tennessee, it was common for the forecast to be filled with inches of snow, and nothing would come of it.

At this point, I just thought that was standard.

When weather channels in Johnson City were calling for fair amounts of snow at the end of the week, I didn't think much of it. But, as ETSU start to send out emails about what would happen Monday if school was to be closed, I knew it was actually something to look into.

Around 11:00 p.m, sleet and ice started to coat the ground. Again, this wasn't very promising, but it still made me curious as to what was coming. Then, not even an hour or so later, snow began to fall. And stick.

By then I didn't want to go to sleep. I couldn't. I stood on my bed and watched snow fall into the parking lot from my window. I was amazed at how it how blanketed everything. Watching the flakes of snow gently pile into a sheet on the ground was mesmerizing. The street lights illuminated the scene.

And when I did finally have to go to sleep, I did not sleep well. First of all, I sleep with my window open most nights because my room doesn't have much circulation and I like to be cool. I could feel the cold gusts of winds rush in through the screen of my window. With my eyes shut, I could only imagine how much snow had gathered since I looked last. Subconsciously a few time I do think I got up and looked out the window, just to see what was happening.

In the morning I got up, no alarm set, and hurriedly stood up to see if the forecasts had been true. Granted, any amount of snow is exciting, but more than an inch? That's almost unheard of in my lifetime. So I stand up, look outside, and am at a loss for words.

It did in fact accumulate overnight, AND it was still snowing. I was paralyzed by excitement. Do I stay inside and watch the snow pile up? Do I go outside now while it's still early? What if it all melts by the afternoon? After very little deliberation, I decide to get dressed to head out. I put on three layers of long-sleeved shirts and pants, along with my winter jacket, Hufflepuff scarf, and a signature ball cap. I pack my camera bag and head out the door.

The snow crunches underneath my feet as I walk down the steps. My footprint isn't even touching the ground. I can't even tell what's sidewalk and what's not!

My neighbors are outside, pushing their child down the small hill in his sled.

I cross to the other side of the road at the bottom of the hill.

The road had obviously been cleared earlier in the morning, but it was still slushy. Without my snow boots I know my shoes and socks would have been soaked. I stop in front of the Wesley House and take picture.

As I stand there, I hear someone shouting my name. I look around, trying to figure out who it could be, and Ketura pokes her head out from her bedroom window on the left side and waves to me. How she saw me? I'm not sure (Now that I think about it, she might have saw me cross the street. But still.) I wave back and tell her to stay warm.

I walk down the hill, crossing the main intersection where traffic usually is. I walk slowly through the slush, convincing myself that I wasn't going to fall. I turn left at Ross Hall and decide I am going to do a loop around the campus to take pictures. After passing West Hall, I see two guys building a snowman in between the dorm buildings. I ask if I can take their picture, assuming it would be of them making the snowman, but instead they start having snowball fight. I take a few pictures and awkward walk away. I make my way to the football stadium, where even from a distance I could tell that there were two snowmen already built there.

No footprints were around the snowmen though! They must have been built in the early hours of the morning. Past the empty parking lot of the CPA, I see a few students sledding down the hill at Lucille Clement Hall. 

I go up to the top floor of the parking garage, take pictures of the tiny snowmen in the quad, and take a break at the library.

The library was eerily empty. 

No one was at any of the service desks, and maybe two total students were on the first floor.

I go into bathroom and take some paper towels and wipe the snow and water off my camera. I'm so deathly afraid of the cold or water damaging my camera it's been through, well, a lot.

I exit the bathroom and sit down at one of the Macs and start to upload some of my photos to Facebook and Google Drive. The windows of the library look like something out of a Hallmark movie. Pictures don't do it justice.

 I continue my trek around campus, with the snow still ferociously falling. I walk around Burleson and Mathes, through Brown, and after seeing almost everything, I hike back up the hill. I saw many trucks hard at working clearing sidewalks and roads off, dumping piles of snow onto other piles of the snow. The amount of students and just people walking around on campus increased tremendously as it transitioned from morning to afternoon. Groups were taking pictures together, of each other, etc. When I was walking through the Tri-Hall field a group asked me to take their picture of them with their unfinished snowman! I told them they had to finish it, but they said there was too much snow to find any sticks. Which is a fair point I guess. 

The walk uphill was treacherous. The snow seemed ten times heavier than earlier. As I passed the train tracks, a voice calls out to me from the car beside me. It's Aleena and Caitlyn! They're both in the backseat of a friend's car. Aleena tells me the pictures she saw that I took today are beautiful, and Caitlyn tells me that I am beautiful. They wave goodbye. That made me smile. :)

Past the Wesley, I see a car pulled off to the side of the road, based on the conversation I heard, he had low tire pressure and couldn't move. I think he got it resolved, though. I make it back to the condo, shake the snow off my camera bag, scarf, and hat, and warm up. I change into different clothing and attempt to relax. For some reasons, my face almost seemed to be burning hot after being inside a while. 

Later the news broke that there would be no class tomorrow.

And that really made things feel full circle for me.

Because for me, I feel like there has always been a child-like whimsy around the snow and memories of snow. Maybe it's just nostalgia or a remembrance of simpler times, but it fills me with such warmth to be in or surrounded by snow. The excitement of not knowing if you'll have school tomorrow, waking up to a white backyard. Snowball fights with friends, or staying in and drinking hot cocoa. And not just for myself, I enjoy watching others enjoy the snow.

I saw so many friends chasing after one another, with smiles on their faces. Or roommates feeling accomplished after building a snowman together. All of this the day before we were supposed to have finals.

This might sound like a lot of nonsense, but that's okay. I really write these so I can go back and remember what I felt and saw. But I just thought I'd share.

In conclusion, today has basically felt like a Hallmark Christmas movie. Let's see where the rest of the week takes us.

Love always,
Allison