Snowflakes and Their Frigid Relative: Ice

A few days ago, it snowed! I was so excited because I love snow and especially snowflakes. Every individual snowflake I’ve seen has been so delicate and beautiful that I constantly wonder about their creation. They all have minute and intricate details, and it disappoints me that they disappear so soon after I catch them. I wish that I could look at each one for more time, to give it the full admiration that it deserves. Sometimes, I’m lucky enough to capture one on my camera or phone, which is usually followed by a short self-celebration over my achievement.

Last year, around this time, it was snowing, but there was no bitter, piercing wind and it was reasonably sunny. Therefore, I decided to start shoveling the snow off of our driveway and afterwards, play in the snow with my cousins. I piled on layers of warm clothing, put on my boots, and grabbed the shovel to head outside. Quite a bit of snow had already fallen, enough to cover a third of my boots. I started shoveling, first a path to the front door and then our steep, uphill driveway. Immediately, I realized that on my driveway there was also a thin yet dangerous layer snow’s frigid and hostile relative, ice. Now, I had to be extra careful not to fall.

After a while of shoveling, I realized that large snowflakes were falling. I caught one on my hand and was able to catch a glimpse of its impressive design before it melted on my glove. I decided to take a break and look at more snowflakes. I noticed one that had landed on the window at the front of my house and that it hadn’t melted away yet due to the freezing temperature. This snowflake was magnificently detailed and big, big enough to be photographed with my phone. Realizing this, I dropped my shovel and walked up the driveway, towards the garage to grab my phone. When I reached my garage, I rapidly grabbed my phone and ran out towards the window with the snowflake on it. And that’s when everything went downhill, literally.

As you can imagine, because I didn’t have any grip on the ice, I slipped and fell on my behind, awkwardly sliding down the inclined, freshly shoveled driveway. I had also dropped my phone down the driveway during that chaos, but I finally came to a stop near my phone. It honestly didn’t hurt as much as it was embarrassing since my neighbors had seen me speed down my driveway on my back. They kindly asked if I was okay, and I assured that everything was fine. I got up and disappointed, hobbled up my driveway with my shovel and phone, into my house.

As I was explaining the incident to my family, I went over to the window with hopes that the snowflake was still there, and sure enough, it was there. :)