Fear Ferret Folks-
 
Today we had one of those heartbreakingly lovely snowstorms here in
central Massachusetts.  The sky was literally flinging down flakes as big
as quarters for hours.  These were those huge wet flakes that you can
actually hear go 'splat!' when they land.  The whole world seems muffled
and cozy during a snow like that, the trees all lean in toward you and no
sound can travel very far.
 
We decided that this would be a good time to introduce Switch the kit to
the great outdoors.  We carried her outside and my husband held her in
his arms until she was comfortable enough with the newness of that world
to want to stand in it by herself.  She made no sound in the snow, just
angular prints with the tiniest impression of toes.  She walked, ran,
burrowed in the snow, using her head like a plow.  She rolled and
war-danced.  She had never known a world without corners before.
 
Finally she raised herself up on her back feet and sniffed with her whole
self...pine trees and wood smoke, wet streets and last falls' leaves.
Then, she looked straight up.  Eyes wide open she saw the sky for the
first time, the sky filled with a million swirling flecks of snow with
no end to itself.  Endlessly deep.  She stood in place so long staring
straight up that she started to tip over backwards and had to catch
herself.
 
That broke the spell, and we gathered her up and brought her back inside.
The snow fell and fell.  It covered the little toe prints, the furrows
that she had dug, leaving no record.  But we saw.  And I think that she
will never forget that glimpse of the infinite.
 
Sincerely,
Alexandra in Massachusetts
[Posted in FML issue 3662]