If you’ve ever watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special you may remember that Charlie Brown lives in a small town that’s blanketed in snow where there are often flurries coming down for the children to catch on their tongues.

This is where I wish to live. 

Not in a world with three feet of snow preventing you from opening the front door and not in this southern Ohio nightmare we call winter where a handful of flakes cause people to whine that winter is terrible. 

I want to live in a place with a few inches of snow on the ground from Christmas through at least February. I want to see all the ugliness of everyone’s outside junk and boringness buried beneath snow that sparkles on a sunny day and that absorbs sound on a still night. 

This is my fantasy. 

There’s speculation that Charlie Brown lived in Charles Schultz’s Minnesota hometown. That state is well known for harsh winters and snow so heavy it could collapse the roof of your home. I don’t want to spend all my free time preparing to shovel snow, actually shoveling snow and then recovering from shoveling snow before going out to do it again but, by golly, a little snow would be nice.

We finally had some flurries here yesterday that had everyone in a tizzy on Friday. It was just a dusting and never anything measurable. The biggest threat to life, limb and electricity was the high wind that could easily thrust thousands into the darkness with the upset of a single tree. 

We had planned a hike but the wind was harsh and Scout was feeling poorly. So, instead, I stayed in. I showered and dressed so as to not be caught with dirty hair if the power went out. I  did a few chores and cleaned up some messes Scout made in the night. I sat on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate, lamenting how I abandoned the all or nothing philosophies of the Whole 30 on day eight – not for lack of willpower but for lack of any practical way to make it work last week. I turned down a couple of invitations to go do things and opted for a book and blanket on the loveseat where I could enjoy the stormy clouds of a winter afternoon. 

I read from a John Irving book and looked up quotes by A.A. Milne, the man who gave us Winnie the Pooh, Rabbit and Piglet too. I contemplated which character I would be before deciding I have characteristics of them all. Perhaps that’s what makes them popular. Every character is relatable in some way. Classical piano music played softly from a favorite Youtube channel and the prospects of a delicious taco salad to end the day kept me looking forward to supper with my fella. 

Snow flurries outside my window created the atmosphere of a snow globe. 

Luckily for me, I had nowhere to go and nothing to do once I got there and the day was perfect. The only thing lacking was the measurable snowfall that I fear might never come this winter. Those Charlie Brown kids had no idea how lucky they were to have so much snow to play in and enjoy. 

This is a long weekend for many of us in the States. Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and banks are closed so I hope to maintain my streak of staying in and cozy until Tuesday morning when the real world comes banging on my door again. Here’s hoping you have this time off as well and are warm and cozy.