The New York-Israel Snow Divide

Clearly, my daughter is a sabra, born in Jerusalem and Israeli to the core.  I shall explain:  When I was a child growing up on the East Coast, my brother and I would eagerly await a snow day, and not just because it meant no school.  We would wake up as early as possible in the morning, put on our toasty outfits in order to be the first to make angels in the "Virgin Snow."  (Yes, we called it Virgin Snow because that is what my mother named it, and no, we had no idea regarding the actual connotation of the word.)

It took much bribery after several hours of snow play to get us back in the house, we barely noticed the temperature.

This morning, a beautiful white soft blanket covered Jerusalem, and Raphaela and I woke up at our usual early hours, before six am.  We snuggled in bed for a bit, and Raphaela made plans for major snow family action, "First we will build a SnowMommy, then a SnowDaddy and then a SnowBaby!" Chock full of enthusiasm, we got dressed and went outside to experience Jerusalem's virgin snow; indeed,  we were the first footprints of the day.  I, the grown up in the story, jumped in the snow with delight, picked up the perfect the snowball material and started to form our Snow Beings.

We assiduously avoided areas with large tree cover, as I could hear and see large heavy branches cracking and breaking because of the weight of the snow. Contrary to my usual Type A personally trait, I was barely phased by the fact that my car seemed to be buried by the great exploding willow tree in the back of the building.  After all, how could I accurately asses any damage until the snow stopped and started to melt around my automobile?

And who cares if my patients and my facial treatment cannot happen today, there is snow, real true fluffy East Coast snow in Jerusalem!

My daughter, after approximately five minutes in the snow, started begging to go back inside.  The snow family plans were canceled, and now that we know for certain that she does not have Gan today, she has adamantly refused to even consider leaving the house, ever, until the snow stops for good.