Yesterday Mother Nature punked us. It was warm. The snow was melting, icicles were falling off tree limbs, and I left slushy foot prints when I walked to the car. It was a taste of spring. Today is winter again. It is 31° but sunny. Luckily there is no wind.

This morning didn’t start well. One front step is still covered in ice, and I had to hold on to the door to keep from slipping. I made it safely to the paper and back. While my coffee was brewing, I took a trash bag out to the deck. The door locked all by itself. I tried but couldn’t get into the house. Through the gate was the only way out. The gate has snow on both sides, hard, crunchy snow. I tried to open the gate, a fence panel meant for a yard. I got it unlocked but couldn’t move it for the snow. I yanked the gate and kicked the snow several times. I managed to open a small gap. I squeezed through the gap knowing it was the only solution, but it took a while. My shoulders are wide as are other parts of my body. Finally I managed to get through the gate and out of the yard. I had to walk though the snow on my driveway. My feet sunk. I went to my knees a couple of times, but finally I got to the road and the front door. I had left the front door open. It was serendipitous.

When I was a kid, snow was always an event. We all wished for a snow day. We wanted to go sledding. We wanted to build snowmen. We didn’t want to go to school. We kept watch. The biggest disappointment was when only a little snow fell. It was useless except for maybe a stray snowball, but that was it. I remember Sister Superior coming over the speaker to warn us before we went out for recess. Any throwing of snowballs would not be tolerated and the thrower would be punished. She never said how, but we didn’t want to risk it.

Snow is so pretty, untended when it first falls, pristine, sparkling like diamonds in the light, but the beauty of the snow has a short life. That’s my least favorite part.

My dance card was filled with uke this week: practice, my lesson and two concerts. My poor sloth is exhausted.

The morning is so pretty. The sun is bright in a cloudless blue sky, cloudless for a short while anyway. The air is still. It is warmer than it has been at 29°. A high of 36° is predicted. I don’t remember the last time we got out of the 20’s, no layering today. Tonight we should have scattered snow flurries starting around seven and lasting until four in the morning.

When I was in the second grade, I joined the brownies. My mother took me shopping for the brownie dress, belt and beanie. On the beanie was an orange elf, a brownie, and another brownie elf was on the pocket and on the gold pin. When we had meetings, I could wear my brownie uniform to school instead of my school uniform. I remember learning a few knots, especially the square knot, left over right, right over left. That saying is so ingrained in my memory drawer I still say it when I make a square knot. One of my favorite memories is marching in the town’s Memorial Day parade. I remember feeling so proud in my uniform.

I think I was in the fourth grade when I had my fly up, when I left the brownies and became a junior Girl Scout. We had to memorize the Girl Scout promise for the ceremony. I remember holding up three fingers on my left hand as I said the promise. My mother took me shopping again. Jordan Marsh in Malden had a Scout section. We bought the Girl Scout handbook, the green uniform, a green beret and a pin with a gold trefoil on a blue background. We bought the sash and the neckerchief I tied in a square knot, left over right and right over left.

A couple of Christmases ago my sister gave me a Girl Scout handbook. It is the same copy as the one I used for years. I love reading all requirements for badges I earned. They were sewn on to my sash. I have a hat collection including a brownie beanie and a Girl Scout beret.

I haven’t been out of the house in nearly a week. The dogs and Jack have been my only company. I carry on conversations with them, one-sided conversations. They follow me to the kitchen every time I go. They stand right by the treats waiting hopefully. Most times I give in.

My dance card is uke heavy. I have my usual practice and lesson as well as two concerts. My solitary life is over.