ARCTIC BLAST

It's January. It's Winter. It's that time of the year when it snows. Except, snow rarely descends and covers the Dallas, Ft Worth area. Yet, the area is known for its occasional Arctic blast ice storms. Arctic blasts with ice storms are dreaded. Snow is a hundred percent better than sleet and ice.

However, no one should drive in sleet, ice, and snow especially the people who reside in North Texas. The roads in Texas aren't maintained like the roads in the Northern states. Schools should be closed. People should stay home taking pictures and enjoying the day with family and friends. But, I have no control over that.

For days, weather forecasts warned of the Arctic blast that was coming our way. Snow was in the forecast for Thursday, the 9th of January.

According to the forecasters' predictions, early Thursday morning, seeing huge white fluffy flakes twirling and tumbling to the ground revived my youthful and joyful love for snowflakes and snow. With each snowflake, Mother Nature adorned and decorated the lifeless dull landscape into a picturesque pristine white blanket of calm silent snow. The snow produced beautiful and magical scenes for taking pictures.

As a child, as an adult, and now, as a retired person, I love snowflakes and snow. When I was a child, we made snow angels, dodged snowball fights, and built a snowman, all are warm fuzzy memories. Nevertheless, the older I get, the more I cherish being cozy and warm indoors doing utterly nothing.

Thursday, the first day of snow was a time to reflect and enjoy family members' posts online of their Winter wonderlands. There were pictures of animal tracks in the snow, a cowboy snowman in their backyard, and more, slowing down by making memories and taking pictures are blessings that were produced because of the Arctic blast. No matter what kind of day you are having, there is always something to be grateful for.

Yes! You can be grateful for snow!

The following day, it snowed almost another half-inch and halted. By Saturday, the snow started to melt. On Sunday, the driveway was dry with a small spot or two of snow that could be seen in the yard. The sun was out. With the sun shining brightly, you would have thought that the season had instantly changed to Spring.

After a week of nice weather, an Arctic blast from a Polar vortex is in the news. Another Arctic blast! The freezing weather extends from Southwest Texas to New York. It's headed our way. According to predictions, the path of freezing weather will be here this weekend. The forecasters are predicting the possibility of snow on Monday. Still, we may or may not have snow flurries. Naturally, Mother Nature can be so unpredictable.

Yesterday, read a post that advised.

"If you choose not to find joy in the snow you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow."

According to the news, the temperatures will be in the teens. If it does snow, there will be joy in my heart. The accumulation of snow is irrelevant. While you don't need an Arctic blast snow day as an excuse to stay home and do utterly nothing, you can be grateful for each new day that is a true blessing.

Mother Nature turned my front yard into a picturesque pristine wonderland that I captured in my picture above. In many ways, it reminded me of the Serenity Prayer:

"The Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change

the courage to change the things I can

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time.

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as he did, the sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it.

Trusting that he will make all things right

if I surrender to His will;

that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

and supremely happy with Him forever.

—Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892-1971"