it wasn't exactly like i imagined.

but it was more than i expected.

we were all at the house of a filipino friend, having our christmas get-together, when one of the teenagers looks out the window and calls "it's snowing! look, it's snowing!" no one wants to believe, until we get a glimpse of the feathery sky and the whitewashed roof. we all rush outside, welcomed by the frigid wind and the fluttering ice. and so it was. it was snowing.

you can never imagine the thrill of your first snowfall, until you experience it yourself. the entire sky dusty with white, the flakes falling slowly, as if in a dream. try to stare upwards, the dull glare of the sun highlighting the ice pixies dancing around. it's been a fancy of mine to taste snow, yet it becomes challenging as the flakes land in your eye rather than on your tongue. and when you do catch them, it's almost like tasting air; it lingers for a moment before dissipating in its liquid state. after prancing in the streets and admiring the sky, turn to the magnificence of the land. roofs, cars, trees, all outfitting a shiny shimmering coat. tiny grasses peek out of the thinly formed blanket, standing tall amidst the all-encompassing white. the whole world as if it were dipped in a sweet sugary coating.

not only are the kids captivated by this sight, but some of the adults as well. we gaily dance and scream the coming of the snow to the street, shivering and chattering in our ill-suited clothing. we admire each other, dressed in our own unique snowfall. picture- and video-taking abound. unfortunately, the snow never falls fast or strong enough, and the blanket doesn't form thick enough, so there wasn't adequate resources for snowmen or snow angels or other icy paraphernalia. we did, however, fashion snowballs from the thickening tops of the cars and participate in our little juvenile (with a grown-up or two) snowball fight. we can only last minutes in the freezing air, so we eventually rush inside, to the towels and tea and toasters.

all good things will pass, unfortunately. and so after an hour or so of heavy snowfall, it halts and leaves for the next holiday. but fortunately, the sun pardoned us this once and chose to hide behind the fog of the sky, leaving the white intact, for us to bask in at least once more. now is the day after, only now the sun decides to show. in a few hours the snow will be but a memory, but for now it perseveres, letting us one last chance to admire it, to bask in it, to remember it well.

who'd have thought that it would snow right here, right now? it's been over a decade since the last snowfall in new orleans, and half a century since it snowed on christmas day. and just in the year when i would celebrate my christmas here. God and nature must have really conspired to grant me my presents both on my birthday and this yuletide season. for my 17 years, the extended weekend during which i was at home while the storm rolled on. and now, the white christmas i had dreamed about and longed for.

i must have been exceptionally good this year.