Two weeks ago, during the blizzard when we all nearly got snowed in, I was walking on clouds and trying to soak up every snowflake.  I walked down the middle of the road and felt insulated by life and by the world.  Nothing could make me cold.

All that snow soon melted from the unseasonably warm days we had.  And today, the snow came back, lightly at first, not even enough to coat the ground for most of the day.  But just the right amount where it simultaneously melted and froze as it landed on the road, coating everything in a thin layer of ice.  Driving home from work was nerve-wracking.  A light turned red and I eased onto the brakes – nothing happened.  As much as I wished for everything to change course, I was helpless.  We all were.  Barreling along at what we thought were slow and safe speeds, never seeing the moment where our grip would vanish coming, and are thrown to the mercy of outside forces, carrying us along a path destined for collision.

I avoided coming anything close to a collision, yet still, that moment where you are sliding along the ice punches you in the stomach.  And you see other crashes play out in slow motion and are powerless to stop them.  There never seems to be enough luck to go around.

It’s colder than you might think today.