All is White; It Snowed Last Night

Cold. Wet. White. Wonderful, wonderful snow!

Pettigrew zips in tight circles around our snow-filled yard. Bounds through drifts. Stops on our walks to mark every snow pile from a cleared off sidewalk or driveway.

Is it the joy of discovering a world transformed? Something new to enliven the old?

Today he led me on a walk we’ve never taken. Linking together bits and pieces from other outings, he created a new route. I don’t think he’s ever done this before.

Did the snow allow him to see our neighborhood with a fresh eye, opening up possibilities he hadn’t previously considered?

I’ve been pondering the role of change as a transformative experience.

One son is off with his dad in New Orleans. A trip for our two, January birthday boys. They are having fun exploring. Eating unfamiliar foods. Checking out the sights. I imagine they will come back refreshed and reinvigorated.

I’m ensconced at home with the other guy. Today we watched Rain Man. In it, Dustin Hoffman plays an autistic adult, deeply rooted in his rituals until his brother steals him from the facility in which he’s lived and takes him on a cross-country road trip. Hoffman’s character holds on to some routines while embracing much of the new experiences and encounters.

In my two workplaces there has been a turnover in the people with whom I work most closely. The loss of familiarity, routines that flowed effortlessly, deeply-held connections, but perhaps, like Pettigrew in the snow, it will also be a chance to see something new.