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After being couped up in the house for days, I looked longingly out the window as the morning drew near and the tiniest of snowflakes fell from the sky. It was the perfect morning for a walk! Or at least as perfect as mornings go in the winter. That is to say, the wind was not blowing, and the snow was not falling an-inch-an-hour from the darkened grey skies.

I Walked to the coat closet, grabbing my black fuzzy coat and zipping it up around me. My scarf was next, all scratchy against my neck, followed by my bright orange hat, and a pair of warm mittens I had crochet myself this past year.

Feeling much too warm to stay inside now, I unlocked the door with a loud ‘CLUNK‘ and made my way down the stairs of my apartment.

A blast of chilly morning air hit me when I opened up the door to outside, relieving me of the warmth I had felt while bundled up inside, and waking up my senses to the outside world. The smell of fresh air was nice, followed by the chilling feeling of my nose hair crystalizing as I took a deep breath in. The crows were cawing from their branches high above me, and the squirrels were running up and down the trees as they chased each other all over the freshly fallen snow.

The sound of the snow crunching under my feet as I walked was the only other sound to be heard besides the birds. The silence was so deafening that it made every sound outside feel ten times louder than it was.

I paused for a moment, looking up at the tops of the trees. All of the birds’ nests were visible, as the trees were now stripped of their leaves and covered with snow. Every once in a while, a bird would glide from one tree to another, so gracefully it soared silently through the branches like they weren’t an obstacle at all. And the snow! Ever so softly did it fall from the sky, landing on everything in sight! I held my arm out, watching as the delicate snowflakes landed softly on my black sleeve. I got but a glimpse of a perfect little snowflake, before it melted away from the warmth of my body heat under the coat. Another took its place and instantly, only to meet the same sad end as it melted away.

A loud scraping sound caught my attention as I walked and reminded me that the world around was still going on around me. (An easy thing to forget, on a Silent Walk in the snow.) A snowplow was now making its way up the driveway of my apartment complex. With the noise disturbing my silent walk, I turned around and gave one last look to the birds as I walked back up to my apartment. I waved at the driver as his white snowplow truck drove by with a deafening scraping sound and pulled my scarf up over my nose. The cold was finally settling in as I walked the last few feet to the door and threw myself inside the warm hallway.

Back to the warmth of the apartment, I settled down on the couch with a lukewarm cup of tea and a computer on my lap to write my thoughts down on. Winter reminds us to slow down, even if we don’t hear it at first. The cold air fills us with so much energy, and yet we stay inside our warm houses, sleepy and content with our everyday comforts. We watch TV, we play on our devices, and we curl up with a good book to wait out the winter until Spring comes again to allow us the comfort to go outside.

I hope you enjoyed taking a cozy winter walk with me. As always my lovely readers, smile, have an amazing day, and get some fresh air today!