Snow Running

I woke up this morning and it was snowing and now I am heading towards bed with a light dusting still spitting from the sky. While snow is often viewed as the enemy, with all the hazards it causes, I can't help but find the innate beauty of it.

As I geared up to go running this evening I had on my black leotards, my thick gloves, and my rainbow bright hat to keep me warm. I had my ipod blaring to Brittney Spears and Bruno Mars as I trudged through the banks of snow. Despite the extra energy it requires to run in the snow, and the fact that every mile you run seems like two, it doesn't matter because I am mesmerized by the gorgeous glistening reflecting back at me. The snow reminds me that there is something out there that can lift the darkness of winter that at times feels like it is engulfing me. I feel the small flakes penetrating my face, sticking to my eyelashes, and I feel alive. I hear the crunching and squishing of snow under my feet, it is the only reminder that my feet are still moving.

Perhaps it is the running itself, but in that hour where I am running I feel like all my worries and heartaches have lifted. I don't know what it is, whether it is the run or the snow, but I just lose myself. I sometimes wish I could run all day; escape the unknowns, the hurt feelings, and my ever churning mind. Yet, I know I can't.

Snow is clean, white, and pure. It gives me hope and a weird way embraces me and warms me.. As I run past the kids in the yard making snow men and snow angels. I laugh out loud as memories flood over me like the ocean at high tide. Through the overcast evening a ray of sunshine hits the snow and produces a sparkling sea of snow that resembles a diamond in the light. Yet, I look back and smile as I realize I am the only person who is weathering the storm tonight because my footprints are the only ones in the snow. Sweating, silent, and smiling I trudge to my staircase and just stand. Listening to the air, the traffic of the nearby street, and glancing back at my lone foot prints in the snow knowing that I am alive and that we are here to do nothing else but leave footprints wherever we go.