Blustery

Snow days aren't what they used to be.

[Edited: This was drafted February 4, 2021, and as we march toward year-end, I am continuing with clearing the decks of never-published drafts and turning them into content for the publication queue. This is fitting for today, when we have mist and rain, but not yet snow. Someone mentioned that it had been over 600 days since New York City had snow; internet research says last measurable snowfall was early March 2022, and February 2022 was the last time we had at least an inch, so "blustery" is apt - right now, Winter is lots of bark and no bite, though windy; that we are not getting snow days like we used to have is also apt, and self explanatory. Contemporaneous comments and substantive clarifying edits are italicized.]

We got some legit winter snow [in February 2021], a solid wallop.  

And we all [had known] it was coming; the forecasters have been pretty on target of late.  Well, the ones I watch on News4NY, anyway - might be their proprietary radar.

I had hoped to go sledding.  But I wasn't disciplined enough to get my work done over the weekend.  So I had to work, and hard.  Even though the sleds were [temptingly, distractingly] right there by the door.

And no snow day for city school kids either.  The school buildings were closed, but now that we are [in 2023, mostly past] COVID mode and everyone has figured out that remote learning is possible, that's what the kids had to do.  No off days for snow fun, poor things.

When it's all gone, though, and [with] this awful virus [largely] under control [for most of us], I'd like to rededicate myself to making the most of the terrace and the Jardin - take some inspiration from these folks.

[Now, almost three years later, the work situation is better - not so many grueling hours, productivity no longer measured in 6-minute increments. But the hours to dedicate to revamping the Jardin remain elusive. Hosting guests and making full use of my rare New York City "amenity"  remains a goal to be achieved. With the constant technological connectivity, serendipitous interludes of unscheduled time - for play (in the snow or otherwise), for socializing - feel fewer and further between. The internet enabled distractions are constant and have a tendency to gobble time, and a seemingly insatiable appetite. But finding time, making time, for other pursuits, and real life people, is just a matter of setting priorities, as has always been the case.

This post-Christmas staycation week is about carving time for back burner tasks, prioritizing maintenance that is too easily ignored: housekeeping, health appointments. Maybe, though,  there will still be some openings for happy surprises...

Not exactly a surprise, but having heard about the Central Park pet memorial tree, which has a "secret" location somewhere in the Ramble so that passersby can just happen upon it, I headed toward home after my dental appointment today via Central Park in search... and found it! 

So sweet. And a New-Yorkers-bestowing-kindness-on-other-New-Yorkers exemplar if there ever was one. We are, at heart, a warm and fuzzy bunch - albeit often secretly so. (Lots of bark, not as much bite as one might assume... unless it's really called for, then watch out. See what happened there? Wink, wink.)

Taking the longer path yielded other nice moments that I will share in another post.]