Blankets And Tearful Tea Leaves

The smoke curls endlessly off the tip of the incense stick as the loose green tea leaves steep in the small blue teapot beside me. Today, my yard was covered, blanketed in snow. A huge white comforter over a foot thick. The fall leaves and green grass have been put to rest. I woke up this morning, sure of having school, only to learn there was too much snow, and it needed to be cancelled. We went from zero to everything, in just one night.

Lennon had never seen snow. He shook violently as I pulled him out from under the snow blanket, snow-flakes falling over his face and eyes. He sat in my arms and shook, letting out the tiniest audible noise. He was less than enjoying himself. I don’t blame him. Who likes snow that is 5 inches higher than the tip of their ears? He now lies, curled up, breathing deeply as he softly purrs, eyes closed.

Outside, the sky is a dark hue of blue, the trees shiver as snow jumps from their branches. Someone walks to the front door, I know this, because the snow beneath their feet is crisp, and makes a crunching noise as each foot falls to the snow covered wood. The trees hang, heavily laden with snow, their branches straining to rest against the white ground below them.

In the words of William Sharp, “There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.” Winter is beautiful. Yes, it is cold, and it is harsh. But winter is misunderstood. Winter is one of the most beautiful seasons, its snow sparkling as light touches the face of the blanketed ground.

This evening I curled up with my brother and dog, tears streamed down our faces as we came to the end of the movie Marley And Me. Both of us, laughed, trying to scare the tears away by pretending to be happy, the tears ran, but not away, they ran down our faces and continued to return. The dog slept quietly on the floor, his snoring muffled by the thick brown carpet.

Today, was a beautiful day, in the long run, weather doesn’t really matter, but it doesn’t hurt to have a glistening blanket covering the ground. To look out and see a million tiny stars decorating your front yard, to smell the fresh crisp smell of newly fallen snow. Ultimate Beauty.