"Here Comes Suzy Snowflake"

 

                                              

 “Here comes Suzy Snowflake

Dressed in a snow-white gown
Tap, tap, tappin' at your windowpane
To tell you she's in town.

Here comes Suzy Snowflake
Soon you will hear her say
Come out ev'ryone and play with me
I haven't long to stay.

If you want to make a snowman
I'll help you make it, one, two, three.
If you want to take a sleigh ride
Whee! The ride's on me.

Here comes Suzy Snowflake
Look at her tumblin' down
Bringing joy to ev'ry girl and boy
Suzy's come to town.” 

Tepper and Bennet

You have to be of a certain age, perhaps even raised in the Northeast for you to know the tune that goes with this old 50’s hit by Rosemary Clooney.   It was made into a cartoon that seemed to play endlessly every Christmas and how I loved it.  It is amazing how one’s mind holds onto lyrics FOREVER, so during any of the three snowstorms we had while I was in Maine this Christmas, you could find me by the window singing this song to my young grandchildren who would “tap, tap, tap” on the window pane on cue whenever we sang it.

And how the snow did “tumble down”.  I think we received some 20” while we were there and it made Christmas perfectly, perfect for this homesick New Englander.  We are back home in Texas now and catching up on some old taped news programs.  They made it all sound so awful and dramatic, which sadly it must have been for those who were in accidents because of it. But if you were by the window singing with children, or watching it swirl off rooftops under the floodlights, or walking knee deep in the softest, lightest, snow pulling grandchildren in a sled behind you, than it was beautiful beyond belief.  It was so cold in Maine; single digit mornings, highs in the 20’s, that this was that “Ivory Snow” snow, easy to shovel, easy to walk through, the kind that does blow off rooftops like some scene from  “White Christmas”- in a word, lovely.

Shall we marvel for a moment at the delight the water cycle brings us?  In Texas I am a bit water cycle deprived, although the best Christmas gift ever was waiting for me when I returned home- 2 days of real, much needed, rain, and thick fog!  Perfect for unpacking and settling in.  Too much warmth and sunshine would have been hard to take after such “Currier and Ives” weeks in Maine.  Thank you God. 

The water cycle also made our trips to the airports pretty exciting each time.  On the way there, water in the form of ice and sleet cancelled the third leg of my flights to Maine resulting in a miracle of being rerouted, for no extra charge, to the airport 10 min from their home rather than the 2 ½ hour drive.  Then when it was my turn to pick up my daughter and husband in Portland, snow had already fallen, making my “wrong way Corrigan” trip to Canada a scene from the Polar Express. (See previous blog for my, minor but significant, error of heading North rather than South on Rt. 95 and not realizing my mistake until I reached Canada!)  Of course, once I turned around and headed the 200 miles back in the right southerly direction, I ran into the liquid form of the cycle in its most torrential state.  Coming down in buckets, meaning I was reduced to going 30mph with flashers.   

Then, when it was, sadly, time to head home, another 150-mile adventure to the airport, changed from a dusting of snow, to nearly a full-blown blizzard.  My youngest daughter headed off in sideways snow to Boston, Hap and I slept at the airport and my daughter and her family, crawled back through 3 ½ hours of nail-biting driving, once again, brought to you by the water cycle.  But they “arrived alive” by midnight so I was relieved.

Next morning, I flew through the condensation part of the cycle with clouds billowing around the plane and giving us a bouncy ride till we landed in Texas.  On New Years Eve, if Santa had chosen to go celebrating, he would have needed to be piloted by Rudolph for sure.   Even as I type this, the world is gray with fog and a buck has just stepped out of the gray to eat away a bit more of what remains of my Esperanza.  But my Christmas lights are glowing and its cozy inside and I am full of good cheer.  “OOOOOooo I really love weather!” said with Eloise-style enthusiasm.    

So here’s to the Water Cycle, clearly we wouldn’t be here without it. And here’s to the God who set it all in motion.  Thank you God, how I appreciate it!  Happy New Year everyone!