Nothing to speak of in the valley

Last night the weather man, whose hair is way too foofy for my tastes (I have a habit of never trusting a guy who wears more product in his hair than I do) predicted that Eastern and Southern Utah would be hit with a big snow storm. I think he rated it a significant storm on his scale of snow storms. He said that the rest of the state including the Salt Lake Valley, would have not much to speak of.

When I woke up this morning, the "not much to speak of" turned out to be enough snow to cover our driveway, neighborhood streets and fill the back yard. By late afternoon, it amounted to 9 inches. Perfect weather for Jack and I and my friend Craig, who loves running in the snow, to go for a nice run at 8 am.

On days like this, the snow makes it so quiet and beautiful. It really looks like an old fashion Christmas with all of the snow sticking to the trees. My mom calls the big flakes "Christmas flakes". The few other runners that we saw greeted us triumphantly as if to say "ha ha, we are out here enjoying this little secret and others are not". There is something about being out there on a day like this that makes me feel smug in my being - even a little superior. I am a tough Finn and I can run in the snow. Jack the dog loves it and every once in a while stops and lifts up a paw so I can get the snow out of it. He doesn't like to wear the dog booties cause all of the other dogs laugh at him. Like Craig and I, Jack probably feels smug too, in his dog being.

Craig, Jack and I ran about 5 miles and just enjoyed being out there. We talked about my friend Bob, lying in a hospital with his trach and his ALS, and how he would have given most anything to be out there with us. We talked about Christmas shopping and spending too much money and what we would do with the rest of Saturday. It was a good 5 mile run that neither one of us probably would have done without the other. It would have been too easy to just sit on our butts and read the newspaper.

Later, Bruce and I walked to a restaurant for lunch and then to the liquor store to get some wine. On the way home I stopped to make my first snow angel of the season. That afternoon, I got out the Christmas decorations. It is early by my standards, to decorate, but late by many others, judging by the lights already up on my street. It was the right day for it though, with the Christmas flakes flying. I took out the stockings that my mom's friend knitted for the kids, and the Santa Claus snowmen another friend made - both friends are long gone, but my mom loves it that I still have these things. I also put up several pictures my kids have made over the years in grade school - Santas, wreaths and reindeer mostly. I wonder if kids get to make these things anymore? There seems to be so much controversy about mentioning Christmas in schools or anywhere else.

I miss having all the kids home and how excited they would get to put up decorations. I miss my dead dad and wish I could spend Christmas with my mom sometime before she is gone. I miss my friend Vic who died a few months ago at 99. His wife is having a hard time and called me to tell me not to come over for my Saturday beer. It is funny how the older you get, Christmas seems to take on a more melancholy air and you have to work harder to not let it get you.

Snowy runs in nothing much to speak of in the valley Saturdays, friends, family, and much to be grateful for help cancel out some of the sad things and help me to look forward instead of backwards.