Into my heart's treasury,

I slipped a coin-

that time cannot take,

nor a thief purloin.

Oh, better than the minting

of a gold crowned king,

is the safe kept memory

of a lovely thing.

-Sara Teasdale

This poem I memorized in high school came to me this morning as I marveled at the beauty of the snow.  As I have shared, here in West Tennessee, we do not get a lot of snow.  This last snow broke records, 13 inches; we made the national news and broke a 40 year record for snowfall.  Even though the snow came on Saturday, I am out of school for the second day.  I teach in a consolidated -public -city/county high school and the school buses make it too dangerous for travel on the icy secondary roads.  The 40+ degree daytime temperatures with bright sunshine are not making a dent in this snow, especially with night time temperatures being sub-freezing. 

Though March is here and it is time to welcome spring, it feels to me as if winter has just arrived.  I know the buttercups are frozen beneath the icy layers, never to raise their sunny heads again.  The beautiful budding trees and shrubs are broken under the weight of snow and ice.  My house is adorned in sparkling icesicles.

I love the quote from Albert Camus:

"In the midst of winter

I discovered within me

An invincible summer."

The weather, like life is always changing.  By the weekend, with temperatures in the high 60's, the snow will be nothing more than a memory.

Now that my age has reached the half century mark, 'making memories' has taken on greater significance.

I make time to notice, to savor and enjoy life's lovely things...

Karen

March 3, 2009