Cal and I had a great President's Day together yesterday, waiting for the storm. We went to lunch and grabbed some new boots for Neel (Cal inherited his dad's... how weird is that?). On our way home we constantly scanned the skies, watching for flurries and decided to stop by our river to see what the water looked like. For the first time ever in my decade+ here, the edges of the water was frozen. It was a stunning (if cold!) sight to see. Virginia is temperate. While we do get snowstorms, we don't get the days on days of cold that it takes to freeze our open bodies of water. At least not here along the coast.

As Cal walked along the tiny beach that's created at low tide (see the picture on the right), we both noticed some movement up against the wall. It turns out that there was a duck trapped in the frozen waves. One of his wings was completely frozen and the other about 3/4 submerged. Cal grabbed a stick and gently freed the ice around first one wing. As soon as he did the bird, who'd been moving slowly, seemed to come to life. The other wing took a bit more time, but within moments, the duck hopped up and out of the hole in which he'd been trapped. We stood there, holding our breath. Moments later the duck bee-lined for the water's edge, stopping to rest for a bit and then stopping again to drink as soon as he was at some open water (who knows how long he'd been trapped?). That boy is my hero.

The snow was just starting to fall as Cal and I stood and watched as our duck (that's what we were calling him now) made his way into the water and seemed to become even more energized. We waited while he bobbed quietly, and as soon as he dove under and came back up shaking and spreading his wings, we had to trust that he'd be all right.

After that the storm could come.

We watched the Westminster Kennel Club Show last night, and can you imagine the celebration when the beagle won best in group! Much cheering in this house! Cal and I took a walk before bed, after the snow had been falling for awhile. That's just the best, isn't it? Quiet night, no cars. Gently falling snow and the hopes of more to come. We got our five day weekend and our winter wonderland to boot. Greedy Lauren is ready for more.

In 1999, when I was barely pregnant with Cal, we unwittingly set the tone for Valentine's Days to come. Early pregnancy, as many of you know, leaves you the kind of tired that is a tired beyond imagining. It's an indescribable tired. And it was in the depth of this tired that Valentine's Day came. Neel and I were in line in the grocery store one evening when I noticed that the guy in front of me was buying grocery store chocolates and grocery store roses. It took a minute (so, so tired), but it finally dawned on me. Valentine's Day. I turned to Neel (again, so tired) and said, "I swear to God, I hope you haven't gotten me anything for Valentine's Day."

About some things, we're rather unsentimental.

A friend of mine who'd recently parted ways with a guy she was dating said, "I'm so jealous of what you and Neel have." And then I pointed out that he gave me a choice of watching Munich or Awakenings on Valentine's Night. See? It's not all grocery store roses and chocolates around here. To add insult to injury, in the manner that things have mostly gone for me so far in 2015, none of the goodies I ordered for Neel and Cal arrived in time. Cue the sad trombone.

After the blusteriest night we've had in years (Is that even a word? It might be a Winnie-the-Pooh word.) and our coldest weather all winter, all our eyes are on the forecast for snow. Fingers crossed for snow! It's been on the chalkboard by our front door for weeks now. We're trying not to get our hopes up. Cal had Friday off for conferences and now today for President's Day, and we wouldn't turn down a five day weekend. They really should be the norm, actually. And if it happens, I'm planning on making sand tarts. !!! I had the loveliest conversation on Facebook with friends who remember and loved my grandmother after last week's post, and I'm even more inspired.

I can't sign off for the day without thanking you for all your kind words lately. I've been so, so busy these last weeks that I've been somewhat neglectful of this space and I need to respond to each of your thoughtful comments. I can't imagine leaving this space for good, especially not while my family is in its current configuration. But I remain acutely aware of all that digital noise and its impact on me. I don't want this space to become part of the noise. My initial thought was to dial down to Tuesday/Thursday posting, but my favorite way to start my week is to check in on you all, so maybe I should show up at the table too. Love you, my ducks. XO