Snow Drifts?

As we listened to the howling winds of Typhoon Parma yesterday, Lisa commented on how bad the snow drifts would be in the morning. No, the typhoon was not generating major climate change for our tropical island. It was just a joke reminiscing the blizzards we sometimes experienced in Michigan. And, for the peace of mind of our mothers, no, the typhoon is not affecting us with anything like what they are experiencing in Isabela or Manila.

So why are we talking about snow drifts again? Like I said, the strong winds were making some noise outside that reminded us of Michigan blizzards. The surprise was the question from our little Butterfly. "What is a snow drift?" How can it be?! A girl that has grown up in Michigan - especially our part of Michigan which is famous for lake effect snow - should know what a snow drift is! I wanted to jump on a plane and get her home and throw her in a snow bank to remind her. The problem is it would be an expensive trip and there are no snow banks, snow drifts, or snow anything for that matter, not yet anyway.

As I thought about it though, it began to make a little more sense. Annalise is now all of 7 years old. Her first few winters she won't remember except for stories and pictures. Last winter we were here and there was no snow. We had an outdoor picnic on Christmas. So that leaves only a few snowy winters as part of her memorable experience. If you consider her age at the time, snow had a different look to her than most of those mid-westerners who are reading this. From her car seat, she did not need to worry about the drifts across the roads. When you are so small, the snow is always waist deep. Plus at that size, getting bundled up to go outside means you can't really move, so you are not going to wander far from the house to see what a drift is anyway.

So I guess her question is reasonable. It still caught me off guard. I wonder what other normal things will be a surprise to her when she visits the USA again.

Grace,
Tom