'Do you have snow shovels?'.
My back was turned away from the conversation as I browsed through jeans for the girls but I noted a pause. Brief, but definately a lull. The salesperson seemed to have been contemplating the guy's question longer than expected so the guy came back with 'just kidding'. I laughed almost to myself but could not help adding 'that was a good one' as the guy walked away.
I got a message from my husband that it was snowing a bit after 17,00. My oldest also texted me in all caps exclaiming her delight in the snowfall. I was still at work and would not be leaving for another half an hour. Even then I could not go home as I had some more errands to run that I was unable to do during my lunch hour. And today I did take the entire hour down to the exact minute.
Since I had no time to go home to get the girls to try on jeans they needed for this colder weather this week, I bought several pair in various sizes with the intent to return the ones which did not fit. I went to two different stores which meant the sizes were inconsistent. Unlike buying pants for men where the sizes are per width and length as opposed to the vanity sizing in women's clothing.
From the four jeans I bought each of the girls, they were to choose up to two. However, all but one fit the girls. One out of eight. So now I need to return and exchange what is wanted and not. In addition, I had to find 'aluminum tape' as requested by my son. He had been begging me to get him the tape since the last time he was here but the closest I found was duct tape and a small roll of shiny silver tape which he said would work.
By the time I left Target, the snow had ceased to fall. The cars were no longer being covered in whiteness. As I drove through the gate and around the corner, it was dark. I heard a voice and saw a pink jacket approaching my car. It was my middle daughter wearing not only the pink jacket but three sweaters and socks for mittens. She and her brother were outside with the neighbours playing in the snow. Oblivious to the bitter cold.
The magic of a snowfall could be seen as the children made snowballs and ran around laughing and delighting in the fact that this was such a rare occurrence in Austin. The snow made me smile for the first time in a long time as somehow things seemed better at that point in time. We might not have a white Christmas but at least we had the delight of a white December day.