They’ve said the words that set hearts fluttering with excitement around here. Oh, they said them cautiously and with maybe, might, not sure, could change.

However, people heard nothing after those magic words. Once uttered, folks lose the ability to hear or to respond to anything else. So now, on this January morning in 2018, we wait to see if what we heard happens or if all the excitement and anticipation were for naught.

You probably know the words without me writing them, but in case anyone missed hearing them… The weatherman stood in front of his map, pointed his finger at Alabama and said, “Possibility of snow.”

Never mind that he also said only one of the models shows much accumulation, and that a couple even suggest very little snow. Once he said, SNOW, that was it.

That one word sets us dreaming of flakey whiteness descending from the sky while we watch in awe. Stores and roads and schools will close. All life will grind to a halt if we get more than a flurry.

Bread, eggs and milk will not be available anywhere in the county, possibly anywhere in the state. Even if you don’t usually consume bread, eggs and milk, you are required to have them on hand if it snows.

The promise of snow happened not long ago and it did fall in inches to the north of our area. We got what, at best, was a dusting. It was enough to fill Facebook with pictures of kids and grownups standing beside the world’s tiniest snowmen. Now, for the second time in one winter, snowy weather might come our way.

I’ve said the above stuff to say now words that will not cause excitement. In fact, they probably cause disagreement.

I am not excited about the possibility of snow, especially a blanket of snow. (A dusting is fine because it is funny to watch my cats try to figure out what’s happening.)

This was not true when I was a kid mostly because kids don’t have to make sure there are plenty of bread, eggs and milk. Children also don’t worry about whether they have on warm enough clothes. Show them snowflakes and they will be outside in their undies if you let them.

It’s a little different for adults, at least for me. I’ve lived through several instances of South Alabama getting a “real” snow. After the first hours of enjoying watching it fall, the fun kind of melted, way before the snow did the same thing.

Once an ice storm hit before the snow, which caused a power outage. It is way less enjoyable to frolic in a winter wonderland when you don’t have a warm house to retreat to after frolicking.

Another time, freezing rain showed up first coating everything with a slick sheet of ice. Then came a layer of snow. We couldn’t get up the road leading from our house for two days. Luckily, we had plenty of the food essentials.

Snow, even a little of it, followed by the extremely cold temperatures they say are coming after it can make driving dangerous. That makes it rough on people who have to get out no matter what the weather. So, that’s not fun.

As I write this, the sun is shining. However, the weather person keeps saying it is coming tonight and the school closings list is racing across the bottom of my television screen with more added every hour. I am betting before day’s end, finding a loaf of bread will be almost an impossibility.

Yep, they uttered those three magic words and with the possibility of snow, we are now in waiting mode, watching the weather reports and the skies. Should it arrive, oh the joy of frolicking in that promised winter wonderland (even if it’s only a few flakes stuck on trees).

If it doesn’t appear, people will demand an explanation from those forecasters. Either way, I’ve got my bread, eggs and milk.

 

 

Nancy Blackmon is a former newspaper editor and a yoga teacher.