Here's just something I wrote today, hopefully someone may find this enjoyable or useful. Your mileage may vary. =)
Would You Build Me a Snowman?
I went out to eat this afternoon because I hate cooking – especially on weekends, which I consider to be my time to recuperate from a rough week. I sat there looking out the window at the snow and kept thinking back to when I was just a kid with no worries and a huge pile of snow was seen as a divine gift, rather than an annoyance.
As a kid, snow was something that I'd look forward to. When the weatherman said that it would be –40 (my favorite temperature because it makes the same sense to both Imperialists and Metricists) and that a blizzard was on its way, I knew my prayers had been answered. Closed schools, ice skating on a frozen pond, snowmobling, and snow forts were among my winter favorites. As an adult, winter is a nuisance – those doggone teenagers get the day off and cause trouble, the drive to work is treacherous, and to top it off you get to work late and have to deal with an angry boss.
My most cherished winter memory was when I built a huge snowman. I began pushing a snowball around the yard until it accumulated so much additional snowy mass that I could no longer push it. The snowball was over 4 feet tall and probably weighed well over 400 pounds. I made a second one – not quite as big since I was so tired – and used a makeshift ramp of 2x4s in order to slide it up on top of the other one. Finally, a smaller snowball was created for the head of the snowman – by this point, my brother-in-law had come out to help me, and it took the two of us to hoist this thing on top. It had hockey puck eyes and fence post arms and was the biggest sonofagun snowman I had ever seen in my life. (I estimate that this beast weighed anywhere from 600 to 700 pounds. I'm pretty thankful that it never toppled over on me.)
Anyway, back to the present day, where I'm sitting in the restaurant staring longingly out the window. I mention to the waitress how I really wanted to build a snowman today. Jokingly, she said that I should build one for her. She was surprised when I immediately grabbed my coat and went outside to complete the task. The snow was a lot colder than I thought and there was not enough moisture to get it to "stick" together very well, so unfortunately my snowman ended up only being a foot tall. Being on an artistic bent, I expressed disappointment in the snowman, but some people were impressed with it so I guess that made it worthwhile.
There were two lessons that I learned today. The first was a personal one. You see I've been living my life the way society has deemed acceptable, but I realized that this brought me no happiness. I realized that although I enjoy my job, excel at it, and have gained the respect of my colleagues, it does not bring me any sense of true worth. I realized that I had been living my life incongruently with the way I felt inside. So today I made a snowman because I felt like it. Nobody said I was childish for doing so or that it was a pointless endeavor. And despite putting in long hours at work for the past few weeks to get urgent matters solved, nothing made me happier than building a simple snowman.
The second lesson that I learned was more profound but also disappointed me a little bit. I imagined out of all my friends and family – those who I love and hold dear – who would be willing to go and build me a snowman if I asked them. How many would dismiss the idea as hogwash? Who would say it was childish and pointless? Who would I go and build a snowman for? Who is worth my time and effort? I realized that there were only three people in my immediate family who would build me a snowman, and that only a few of my close friends would do this for me, and that virtually none of my business colleagues would do this for me. I realized that I have not found true love because there are not many women who would build a snowman for me – I've only met three in my life, and it is only in hindsight do I realize what could've been. I realized that of all my failed relationships, the other person was not one who would've done this simple gesture for me.
It is amazing how five minutes of effort followed by a 16 oz. steak can really give you insight. I gave it more thought in order to figure out what is so special about those who will make a snowman for me. One quality is sacrifice – these people will be willing to freeze fingers in the cold for me. Another quality is passion – they'll do it because it is fun; their childhood spirit has not been neutered by a life of commercialism. Most importantly, I know they are the ones who will walk the walk and not just talk the talk. They are the ones who have my back no matter what.
From now on, I'm going to ask myself who will build me a snowman. And if someone will not do this for me, then I will have little obligation to them. In fact, I think it would make a really good pickup line – plus, the world can use another snowman.
EvilCats
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Would You Build Me a Snowman?
