ups and downs of snow

The frozen continent is warming up. Last night it was like Christmas mornings are supposed to be in the States. The wet big snowflakes were gently falling in the windless sky and the weather was warm; at least, not intolerably cold! Town is white and clean-looking again; not dirt-ridden.

The snow moving in and falling was beautiful until it became the instigator of our C-17 cancellation from Christchurch. If you haven't gathered this yet, a C-17 flight coming in means: packages, fresh fruit and vegetables, new faces, or a smaller town population (depending whether you want to see people coming or going), and a lack of extra processing of flight delays and changes at work. So for a girl who is still waiting on a couple birthday packages that have been late and sitting in New Zealand since mid-October, those flights are something to put a smile on my face; when they make it to McMurdo.

But, back on the bright side, I got a special gift this morning that actually came from giving someone a gift. A friend of mine lost his hat a few days ago and was on his way to a field camp this morning for a few weeks. I figured he should have something to keep his ears and head cold out on the flat white of Antarctica, so in my abundant downtime at work last night, I crocheted him a new hat. Although, I have a few other projects I'm working on right now, it really did not take me very long and I felt like it would serve a good purpose. So, this morning, he was hurriedly packing his bag in the hallway when I came out of breakfast, so I threw the hat in his bag too, and got an incredulous smile when I told him it was for him. I guess, it was a lesson in giving something from the heart. I didn't expect anything back; well, maybe a general 'thanks.' I just wanted to do something nice and I was rewarded with a grin from ear to ear and abundant thank yous and by watching him sport the new head accessory like it was already a permanent fixture! To me my gift was a small one, but I saw a heap of rewards. If only we always got to see that joy from our little insights, compliments, conversations, and even the tangible gifts we give. They can act as the accessories we decorate everyday lives with!