First Snow

In the midst of the city awakening from the cocoon of night, filled with horns and chilled pedestrians, there exists an incredible stillness during a snowfall. It is something I never had the opportunity to experience until I moved here. The world around you may be moving a mile a minute, but as you walk down State St, the stillness of the snowfall engulfs your being. It sounds so oxymoronic. Flakes are fluttering, cars are roaring, cabs are swerving, music playing in your ears, and yet you can feel completely calm, serene and at peace. It is the moment where your eyes focus utterly and completely on the flakes fluttering that your rush to get to work on time or the to-do list you are going over in your head absolutely vanish. It is one of the most beautiful feelings in the world.

This city ain't all bad. Although I am not a fan of the cold and my family is far far away, there are so many things I love about this place. Since moving downtown and as the temperature drops, I have been compiling a running list of what I love:

1. The Hancock tower (which can be seen from my balcony) is lit up with red and green lights during all of December. Many other office and condo buildings follow suit. It is a constant reminder of my absolute favorite time of the year
2. The trees lining Michigan Avenue (home of some of the best shopping & people watching you will ever find) are decorated from trunk to top with beautiful white lights
3. Work holiday parties (I know, they happen everywhere)
4. A paycheck (yeah, yeah, same as above)
5. Snow falls - just the falling part, well, and the piling part (but only on places I don't have to walk or drive through)
6. Pete
7. Down coats, scarves, warm boots and a good pair of gloves
8. Indoor exercising options - I took my first "bar method" class last night and OH BOY am I sore. But apparently I can get a Kim Kardashian butt, so I'm going to keep at it
9. Knowing I get to return home to Napa for 11 days in a very short while where I will see my munchkins, parents, friends and siblings (fingers crossed for a skype date with Mr. Z Waggles)

Oh, and I might have a little extra pep in my step, since I did pass the California bar :)

Miss you Zach. Keep up the good work my boy.