A Christmas Gift

William Carlos Williams

We are snowed in at our house in Humptulips County. We haven’t seen this much snow in our County in recent memory. Whether it is the result of global warming, a benevolent God, a freak of nature or something else equally unknown does not take away from its beauty and grandeur.

Everything is covered with snow to a depth, in some places, of 18 to 20 inches. The children and dogs are the chief beneficiaries, romping without hesitation for long periods of the day. Their play is not sophisticated. They toss snow balls, sled and build snowmen with abandon. It is the kind of play I remember enjoying in the 1950’s. There is something about the snow that makes children of all of us. While I didn’t toss a snowball yesterday, I found myself happily batting at our many pines with a broom to knock the snow off the branches in an effort to avoid their breakage.

We are snowbound – we haven’t been able to get out since last Friday due to the depth of snow and the icy conditions of the region’s roads. While we often get an annual snowfall or two in Humptulips County, they are usually of short duration and the snow isn’t deep and piled. Our normal snowfall is one or two inches of dry snow that eventually evaporates within two or three days into patchwork, lace-like decorations adorning gullies and North facing hillsides. Our current snowfall is wet, deep and of sustained duration, and more snow keeps being added to the mix. This is the stuff of the American Midwest and Northeast.

We aren’t suffering in this snow. The power is on, we have phone and Internet access to the world, and my very intelligent wife stocked up on food in advance of the event. We are eating far too many Christmas cookies and thoroughly enjoying the scenery. We will probably spoil the entire experience today by digging our way out to the road and going in for more supplies. With any luck, I might even finish my interrupted Christmas shopping – but I am beginning to wonder if I am not already finished, since we have been given this wonderful gift of snow that I hadn’t planned upon.

Being snowbound is as much a state of mind as it is a physical experience. Everything is cosier and more cloistered. The mind wanders to matters of personal relationships, perhaps because the snow reminds us of our need to depend upon one another for survival. We seem to be reveling in our relationships. I have been sharing emails with friends far and wide, and my wife has been calling her many friends and sharing our outdoor experiences here on the farm. We all feel slightly giddy in a childlike manner, as if in hopes of more wonder and beauty to come.

The snow is not without its dark aspects. We have tree branches – and, indeed, entire trees – down in some places from its weight. Our Christmas ham from Harrington’s of Vermont is somewhere in a UPS truck and cannot be delivered due to the condition of the roads. My son and his girlfriend may not be able to make it to the house for Christmas if more snow falls. I think there are Christmas presents en route to and from our house, but I cannot be certain whether the presents will arrive in time for Christmas.

But I don’t much care about all of that because we are warm, cocooned and safe. While I wouldn’t want to be snowbound for too long, the occasional hunkering down in our Winter den is not only acceptable, but appreciated. We have been granted the gift of snow for Christmas, and it is a gift that I plan to enjoy while I may.