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[personal profile] littlewashu
It snowed so much yesterday! At my parents' house, I mean. It meant that my grandparents had to head out not too long after their arrival, and that is sad. But Christmas has become oh-so casual these days, it's just the six of us. We spent pretty much the entire day watching the Trading Spaces marathon. And I got the rest of my laundry done.

It snowed! It started around noonish and was still snowing when I went to bed at one. There were at least eight inches. I'm pretty sure this was my first White Christmas ever. I thought I might have had one once, and maybe I did, but it also may have been a White Thanksgiving that I'm thinking of. Usually it doesn't snow till mid-January, but this year we've had TWO big snows already! Amazing!

The town in which I grew up is wealthy, snobby, and stuck-up. It's also goddamned beautiful. I didn't like it much when I was in school, but now when I go back . . . I'm still not nuts about most of the residents, maybe, but maybe that's just me being snobby myself. And it's BEAUTIFUL.

As lovely as snow is, it was causing agita for all of us yesterday. How would I get HOOOOME? This wasn't just snow, this was thick, heavy, sticky, snowman-caliber snow. Totally crappy to drive in. Though I kept saying that if it were just ME, I'd be fine; but there were all those fricking idiots on the road who don't know how to drive in the snow. Because I am an excellent driver, yes I am.

I hemmed and hawed and I hemmed and hawed and I hemmed and hawed some more. Should I leave? Should I stay? I had to work Thursday (that is today; I am at work) but I did NOT want to head back Thursday morning. Finally, about eightish, I decided I would head home. I figured I would leave around 8:30. (Cue laughter). My mom said "do you want a cup of tea before you leave?" and I said yes and we watched the end of that episode of Trading Spaces. Then I went downstairs to get the rest of my laundry together and then I went outside to load the car and HO. LEE. CRAP. I have never seen anything so beautiful in all my life. I hadn't gone outside yet, why hadn't I gone outside earlier? Everything was covered with snow. All the Christmas lights were covered with snow. The trees -- the trees, the trees! My Lord. We have a neighbor across the street, and they lost their son at the tender age of one. They planted a tree when he died, and the tree is small and COVERED in lights (I love that, when a tree is just Christmas lights, all covered, like in that commercial where the dude gives the girl the diamond something, and also at Tavern On The Green), and so the tree was lit up and snow-covered and beautiful beautiful beautiful. It was so gorgeous, I couldn't leave, how could I LEAVE this? It was raining in South Jersey, there was no snow, and I was going to leave THIS for THAT? Life is too short! When might I ever see a snowfall like this? In the dark? On CHRISTMAS?? I hemmed and I hawwed and I cried a lot and hugged my mom and told her I'd miss her and I just looked around, and looked around, tried to remember anything, I wish I had a photographic memory. I looked and looked and looked as much as I could. There were inch-high ridges of snow on twigs a quarter-inch wide. A bush in the front yard looked like it had more snow than bush. The back yard was untouched, the bird feeders snow-covered and quaint. The house looked wonderful. How could I leave?

I left. It was probably ten o'clock by then. I got in my car and drove down to the highway. My road was still unplowed, but the more-major one was fairly clear, and the highway was fine. I got off at the next exit and drove back to my parents' house. How could I leave? What was I heading home for, WORK? Ha. Ridiculous. I drove around a few neighborhoods and then made it back home. My parents were so happy to see me; they would have been worried sick until I called to say that I had arrived home, and of course they would rather have me around than not. We put warm clothes on and went for a walk (my brother had left earlier to go sledding). We left the house at eleven o'clock. We walked down our street, and past the VFW hall. We walked over the bridge over the Ho-Ho-Kus brook; we were the first people to do so, except for a dog. We tracked the dog. The white trees, hanging over the dark brook -- amazing. We walked through the teeny town of Ho-Ho-Kus. We walked over the brook again, and looked in antique store windows. We saw kids sledding down the hill from the train station. They had a dog with them. We went back inside and watched an Engilsh movie about prisoners who take up gardening but we went to bed before it was over. Driving home this morning was a bitch, and I'll have to make up the hour-and-a-half, but man, who cares? I'm so glad I stayed.

Date: 2002-12-26 10:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prettykate.livejournal.com
The town in which I grew up is wealthy, snobby, and stuck-up. It's also goddamned beautiful. I didn't like it much when I was in school, but now when I go back . . . I'm still not nuts about most of the residents, maybe, but maybe that's just me being snobby myself. And it's BEAUTIFUL.

I feel like I wrote that! That could be Glen Ridge!

Date: 2002-12-26 11:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] littlewashu.livejournal.com
NORTH JERSEY REPRAZENT!!

Date: 2002-12-26 01:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prettykate.livejournal.com
Dude, now that I live in Montclair, it's so crazy because 1/2 the down is like middle/working class, and the other half is insanley rich. Crazy.

Date: 2002-12-26 02:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] empress-mars.livejournal.com
Sounds beautiful, you described the scenery very well. I'm glad you stayed too. You've got your priorities straight.

Date: 2002-12-26 05:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] littlewashu.livejournal.com
Thanks! I didn't think I described it well at all, but thank you. And man -- I kept wailing "I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do!" I wanted to do whatever made me happy, but I didn't know what that WAS! I don't know why I was having such a hard time; from here, I'm certain that I made the wise decision. I mean, going home and sleeping in an empty apartment vs. going in 90 minutes late, when there are no bosses in anyway? Please! I'm so foolish. Thank goodness I stayed, I'd've been kicking myself all damn day otherwise.

Date: 2002-12-26 04:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] superdaintykate.livejournal.com
Sounds absolutely gawgiss. Thanks for the prose :)

I find it very odd that you live there and I live here and I've had a white xmas (back in '88) and you hadn't. I mean, not snow to the extent of, you know, SNOW, or even Snow, but still. Snow on cactus is a pretty neat thing. And I got to wrap presents by the lights on the tree and watch the snow and listen to the midnight mass on the television and wait for my parents to come home, and I totally forgot to listen to what my dog had to say at midnight and when I went to find him and ask what he said he was ALL pissed off and wouldn't tell me. So, yeah. Snow. I'm glad you went back and enjoyed it with your family. That's something you'll remember a lot more fondly than being to work on time.

Date: 2002-12-26 05:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] littlewashu.livejournal.com
Ah yes, of course, what your dog had to say at mid -- what? Is that a thing, dogs can talk at midnight on Christmas? I did not know that. I want to say that it sounds VAGUELY familiar, but I may just be making that up. Sooooo . . . the who in the what now?

Date: 2002-12-26 05:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] counterfeitfake.livejournal.com
And cats can scratch the fuck out of you at midnight on Christmas. Good thing you didn't go home.

Date: 2002-12-26 06:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] superdaintykate.livejournal.com
Folk wisdom sez that "the animals" (I don't know if this extends to all animules, or just the domesticated ones) can talk at midnight on Xmas Eve. I have the feeling it has something to do with the critters hanging out around the Manger, or some whatnot. All I know is that we ALWAYS forget, EVERY year, and our dogs always look hurt afterwards, like they were hoping we'd actually listen to them for once, instead of telling them to shut up and stop barking at nothing. Also, my cousins spent one Christmas Eve in their barn in Seneca, NY so they could hear their pony talk and I'm pretty sure they nearly froze to death. Had they stayed awake the pony prolly would have told them to go the hell back into the house, what were they, animals?

So, yeah. Henry probably would have sassed you. Good thing you didn't go home.

Date: 2002-12-27 11:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] schtune.livejournal.com
"...an Engilsh movie about prisoners who take up gardening..."

Greenfingers! We had kind of an inside joke about that movie at work: we hired this ex-con out on work release who had been our company's lanscaper before he found himself in the klink. So we called him Greenfingers. That's all.

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