The impending storm got me out early, and I’m just back from finishing my errands. My fingers are about ready to break off from my hands. They are bordering on numb cold. The frigid air and the wind are shocking and take your breath away. Snow is predicted for this afternoon. At first it was a dusting to an inch. Now there could be up to four inches. My philosophy today is simple: Let it snow! Let it snow! I’m home, comfy and getting back to warm. I have cream for my coffee and a blueberry turnover. The dogs each got a biscuit in a cat shape. The irony was lost on them. I have no further need to go out today.

Dark clouds and cold days seem to invite a nap. I’m penciling one in on my otherwise empty dance card for today.

My kitchen floor will finally get washed today despite the impending snow. I break out in hives every time I go into the kitchen and see paw prints covering every inch of tile floor from the back door across the kitchen to the hall.

When I was a kid, I walked to school every day. The weather didn’t matter. Every kid in my neighborhood walked to school, meandering on warm, sunny days and fast walking on cold or rainy days. We didn’t complain. That was the way it always was.

In Ghana, my house was on school grounds as were the houses of most of the staff. My classroom block was about a two or three minute walk across the compound from my house. Every day I walked pass one of the dorms, the dining hall and the principal’ s office/ staff room combo then back again, sometimes there or four times a day. I got wet on rainy days, but my clothes dried quickly. If I were out and about in town and it rained, I’d just duck into a store or covered spot until the rain ended or lessened to mist. Life goes on in the rain.