Snow Day

So, I've been in a bit of a funk the past few weeks. Recovering from my surgery should have lent itself to time for writing. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I found myself glued to the couch watching movie after movie, old television series after old television series in a medicinal haze. Finally, the antibiotics, antiinflammatories, and narcotics were gone and the mind-numbing fog was lifted. I also got a message from my uncle, Dan, telling me to get my act in gear and start writing again. Time to get caught up on a month's worth of activities.



The week after my surgery Suzhou was hit with some snow. I used to love winter and all wintertime activities. Skiing, sledding, snowball fights, and snow angels filled many a cold days. Now I positively dread all things winter except scarves and hot chocolate. The girls had only seen snow a couple of times in S.C. and it snowed here just a little last year. The snow started Tuesday evening and didn't stop until Thursday afternoon. That amount of time should have produced more, but in total we probably got five or six inches. However, that was plenty for the girls. They were up, dressed and out of the house earlier than if they'd had to go to school. I sat, leg propped up, positioned nicely under the heat, and waited for the pictures. They made a couple of chinese snowmen complete with a pack of cigarettes. The guards enjoyed bombarding them with snowballs in between sweeping the roads clean with brooms. Larry called from work to let me know he'd made it and driving was even more perilous than normal. School was out for two days and the girls made the most if it, staying out until their fingers and toes were frozen. The cats and I watched from our perches, longing for warmer temperatures.