The snow covers the ground in a thick icy blanket

It's snowing this afternoon. I'm sitting at my desk, looking out the window, munching a snack while a woman sweeps snow off the steps of a building on the other side of the street. A construction worker is taking a leak in the alley across the way and cars are streaming down our street honking and swerving and sometimes narrowly missing each other in the rush to get somewhere.

I find myself loving the snow here in a way I never did in Colorado. Maybe it's because the kids get so excited about it or because it makes this ugly city seem prettier. Maybe it's because my life moves more slowly here and I can actually sit back and enjoy it. Or maybe it's because I don't have to drive in it. Whatever the reason, it's a welcome change from the cold, hard grey of winter and it lifts my spirits to see the flakes floating past my window.

The kids in one of my creative writing classes copied their snow poems onto paper bags. They're now hanging out on my balcony and the idea is that they'll get "weathered" during the winter. Rain probably lends itself to weathering more than snow does, but I still enjoy looking out the window and seeing their poems twisting and fluttering in the wind.