By now, even those who were in the deepest turkey-and-holiday-food induced comas have stirred out of their slumber enough to realize that Mother Nature not only gave us the present of a White Christmas, but was so generous with the snow that we will be dealing with it for some time.
It’s sad to say, but it’s rare to see kids nowadays indulging in the simple activity of building a snowman. Sad, because building a snowman is one of those magical activities that brings people together. (The whole bit of putting an old hat you found on your snowman’s head and watching him come to life is a different part of the magic.)
The magic of building a snowman together is a numbers game — the more people you have, the bigger the snowman you can make. It’s a co-operative adventure that brings people together, sometimes people you wouldn’t expect.
Even if snowman building competitions aren’t your thing, snow does tend bring people together as we deal with our common foe: getting out and waving to neighbours as we shovel our driveways, doing someone a favour by shovelling theirs or perhaps helping them dig their car out and getting them on their way.
Winter in the Okanagan can seem to be one of the bleakest times of the year. Everything is barren and white, the trees seemingly lifeless, stripped of their leaves and fruit. Or, you could see it as the world resting and renewing itself for spring. Even on those dead looking branches, the buds that will become blossom and fruit are developing — take a twig inside and put it in a glass of water and the buds will blossom. All it takes is a little warmth.
Did someone go out of their way to help you out in the snow? Do you have any stories to share from our Christmas snowfall? Let us know with a letter to the editor at letters@pentictonwesternnews.com.