Snow Day

There's something magical about snow at the beach. Dunes are the only hills to be found for miles and boogie boards are used as makeshift sleds. Tow ropes and knee boards are retrieved from our winterized boats and we pull them behind trucks. The streets take the place of the waterways, and in the midst of all this winter we find comfort in a familiar feeling. We pour salt on our walkways and the taste transports us back to the sea. The sting of rosy, windburned cheeks in January is reminiscent of July's sunburned skin. Neighbors gather around the fire instead of the grill, and our children build snowmen with buckets and shovels that are still a little sandy from their last trip to the beach. More than anything, the sense of community that we all thought went into hibernation comes out to play, if only for a few fleeting hours. The sun sets, albeit much earlier than the days of summer, we say goodbye and retreat back into our cozy homes with a sense of satisfaction that we haven’t felt since late September. In all the snow and ice, we find within our tiny town a private island, the spirit of summer, and the promise of warmer days just beyond the horizon…