I can smell the snow, and  it is a heady perfume.  A mixture of the biting wind and frozen humidity in the air, it calls to me like a forgotten song.  As a Michigan girl in the South, I get few opportunities to enjoy true Winter living in Atlanta.  The mere mention of a snowflake sends this city into a panic and flurry of grocery shopping for provisions for the duration.  Last year, we were the laughing stock of the Nation, as Southerners generally are, when the city ground to a frozen halt for three days as we waited for the snow and ice to melt.

A year later and Atlanta acts like survivors of a great tragedy, flinching and jumping nervously when the weather man utters the phrase “Wintry Mix”.  Big fat snowflakes have been falling consistently for several hours, creating a quiet, still world blanketed in white.  Schools have been cancelled and offices are “telecommuting” in an effort not to recreate the horrid stories of commuters spending cold, dark hours in their cars on the interstates.

Winter is a great gift of rest and reflection.  The creatures of nature have either migrated to warmer climes or hibernated in preparation for another busy Spring.  In this age of constant busyness and obsession with our smart phones, we have lost the ability to really rest and reflect within ourselves.  As I walk through the frozen streets of my neighborhood and drink in the smell of my favorite perfume, I am thankful for this opportunity in my life to truly reflect and rest.  The greatest moments in life don’t always arrive when you ask for them.  They arrive when you need them, and I didn’t realize how much I  needed to center myself again and heal from the constant busyness and stress of the last two years.

This magical moment will melt quickly in the usual climates of Georgia.  It will run in rivers to the creeks and streams and storm drains to be forgotten for another year.  Spring will start pushing its way through the wet soil and announce itself with the bright colors of daffodils and crocus.  The world will spin a little faster and a heat up in full vibrant bloom.  I hope to use this time of rest and healing to be fully ready to bloom in my own life when the Spring comes.