First snow

Winter was spitting its first tiny white flakes onto city streets. Just enough to signal drivers to allow the slapping of wipers across their windshields. To some it was the dreaded dawning of cold weather embalming the world for three long months to come- or more. To others, mainly mitten clad children, it was the beginning of sledding and snowmen season as they frolicked down the icy sidewalks barely able to conceal their glee.
My son and I were travelling around paying bills and running errands. As the cold white matter began to tap the car windows, I felt my own personal despair rumbling in the pit of my stomach. Oh how I hate the freezing cold and trudging over ice and snow for what seems an endless season of stormy weather. As I settled into a frustrated ball of emotions, my son eagerly turned up the radio.
"Let it snow, let it snow..." The words of this seasonal song began to shake the interior of his vehicle and he laughed to see me rolling my eyes. My son, usually shy and quiet around strangers, rolled down the windows to share his glee with anyone who looked out upon the street as we rolled by. Still laughing, he began to sing loudly and pantomine the song's message.
For several minutes, I watched him interact with total strangers as their attention was drawn to the Nissan stopped at a traffic light and booming in spirited song. Some threw their arms up in surrender, others joined in his singing and smiled while passing by. This young man with a face-wide grin and an attention grabbing personality was foreign to me. His energy and positive manner were contagious and I found myself restarting the song just to watch his presence connecting happily with all around us. It was amazing to see him so open, so vulnerable and so able to spread joy and remain totally unashamed.
As we parked the car at home and headed into the house to warm up, I thought how wonderful it had been to peek at this new side of my son's personality. More, how amazing it was to see uninhibited joy radiate from one of the most unsuspecting people I know. Guess we never can tell where pure goodness will show its face next. Maybe that is precisely what makes joy so joyful.