Footprints in the Snow

After this morning's rush to get kids off to school, I paused to take a deep breath and gaze out the back window. While gazing absentmindedly at the deck I noticed one of those priceless, "picture ready" scenes. After rummaging around for a few minutes, I was able to find a camera and capture a digital image of it.

The scene was really a pretty simple one, but one worth noting nonetheless. It certainly isn't a photo that will ever grace the cover of Life magazine or show up in National Geographic next to images of the Serengeti. But, it was a scene that in a Norman Rockwellian manner captures a little of the essence of living while speaking to our routine interaction with the world we live in.

It was a gray scene with fog shrouding the cold winter morning landscape. Winter usually departs the north country very reluctantly and this year is no exception. Last week the temperatures did get tantalizingly warm, but yesterday's snow reminded us that Spring is still a ways off yet. As my thoughts drifted in no particular direction my gaze passed from the fog and the trees to the mostly uninterrupted layer of snow on the ground. There in the gray a few intrepid birds ventured forth to dine at the bird feeders hung from shepherds hooks mounted on our deck rail. My eyes followed a couple as they flitted between tree branches, railing and feeders. But it wasn't the birds or the gray or the fog that really captured my attention.

There in the fresh snow below were the barefoot tracks of perhaps the most wondrous of all of God's creatures- my children. Some were big, some were small. Some followed straight lines while others weaved and bobbed. One set preserved the confident swagger of a teenage boy while others captured the lilting skips, leaps and pirouettes of dancing daughters. Mixed into this merry human dance were the puzzled paw prints of the family mutt and kitty cat. The random patterns and unplanned directions spoke of the unbridled enjoyment of a an early Spring snow storm.

It seems that life often comes at us in cold, unappreciated waves. It blankets us with messy moisture that slows our pace and alters our plans for sunshine. And yet- if we're willing, we can view each successive storm as yet another invitation to join in the dance. Come what may, ours is the choice to cower inside or kick off our shoes and enjoy!