It is SNOWING! I love snow. No matter what people say or how challenging it is to drive/walk in the snow, or how much I have to shovel, I love snow. I was born in winter, spent endless hours in the snow, learned to drive in a snow/ice storm, and have always lived in a snow belt!

My siblings and I in the snow! That's me in the blue coat on the left.

When I was home at our IHM Motherhouse earlier this week, I was walking back from the dining room through the cloister hallway and bumped into another sister who was, like myself, gazing outside at the softly falling snow. “I love snow,” I declared, and she followed suit. It was funny because both of us knew we weren’t making an idle weather comment but that we both meant it truly and deeply. I’ve not met many people who share the same depth of love of snow, but in my IHM sister I found a kindred spirit.

I think God is pretty awesome for having figured out the snow thing. With every snowflake that lands on me, that swirls around me, I feel anointed, blessed by God and embraced by God.

Any other snow lovers out there? What is your favorite snow thing to do or experience?

It’s snowing here in Chicago. I woke up this morning at 3:44 a.m. to the sound of a neighbor shoveling the sidewalk right beneath my window. Good morning! So I’ve been up ever since, praying, puttering around the house, doing some editing, and drinking strong coffee.

This is my favorite time of the day, though often I miss it because I am still sleeping. I love the pre-dawn day when the sun has not yet peeked over the horizon and the city feels asleep under the cover of night. My prayer as well as my thinking always seem so much sharper at this time. I feel like God is ever so close to me — I know God is always close to me, but this time of day seems to heighten it for me. How many psychologists and spiritualists talk about the “liminal edges”(liminal meaning being on the threshold)?

Dawn is like a threshold where the night is no longer here and the day not quite yet. They are both present and not present at the same time. Do you remember all those movies and fairy tales where the person (or thing) lives the day in one form (a werewolf, an ogre, a pumpkin or other creature — I watched the film Ladyhawke a million times when I was younger!) and at dusk transforms into another form? Then at dawn, the transformation is reversed? In our collective human psyche I think we know that these are special times of the day. Monks and nuns have honored these hours for hundreds of years by praying the Liturgy of the Hours. I honor this time with prayer and coffee (coffee being a libation of sorts, I suppose ).

Though I was a bit perturbed by waking up to a snow shovel scraping the sidewalk, upon further reflection, I’m glad for it because it reminds me to get up a little earlier next time so I can enjoy this sacred time instead of rushing into my day.

Thanks, Neighbor Guy, for waking me up — in more ways than one!

It’s SNOWING! I’m terribly excited about the snow … we had a little bit on Saturday (I was bike riding as the snow began to fall — see post-ride photo) but last night it really came down. I absolutely love the snow.

When we were kids my parents would take us kids tobogganning at the local park — it was awesome. This was no neighborhood park-ette, but a huge forest you could lose yourself in for days. When we would go tobogganning, we could go a full 3-5 minutes down this huge hill, duck around a 15 foot drop (Dad accidentally took us down that once), enter a densely forested area (yup, hit a tree a few times), cut across an open space and end up at the edge of a river. It was the coolest, most awesomest ride ever. My Dad was a master at ye old toboggan. I know he enjoyed it as much as we kids did. Mom usually stayed up top with a steady supply of hot chocolate, extra mittens, and a warm hug.

So now whenever it snows, I always feel this excitement along with a profound sense of gratitude for the beauty of creation. These Scripture verses echo in my heart:

Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

~ Daniel 3:67-70