Alone

Somewhere on this blog, I have mentioned that I actually like shoveling snow.

There's something about the peacefulness of the outside. There's a stillness that is in the air after the snow has fallen. The powdery fluff dampens the noise of everyday life. The scraping of the shovel along the driveway is a soothing sound to me. It is as if I am alone in the world.

When I am out shoveling and the snow is still swirling around me, I prefer to think of myself in a snow globe. Someone has just shaken it, and I am mesmerized by the swiftly falling flakes.

Alone, but not lonely, for the world continues on around me. Somewhere in the distance I can hear the wailing cry of a siren. A car drives down the street, crunching the cold snow under it's tires. Kids are sledding on a kid-made hill down the street. Their laughter and dogs barking break the silence.

I finish shoveling and walk around to the front yard. I step up onto our yard covered by a two-foot blanket. I fall back into the snow, landing on a light bed of crispy snow covering a layer of ice. I make my snow angel. I carefully climb out of the heavenly shape. I admire my guardian as she alone protects our yard.