Everyone gets at least a little excited, I think, when a good amount of snow is in the forecast. (Well, perhaps not if you're traveling, but let's put that aside for a moment.) It kind of brings people together because we're all talking about it, like we do the Olympics and other somewhat universal events.
Snow teaches us to handle the unexpected. People are scrambling a bit, stocking groceries, checking and rearranging and canceling various plans. We make it work in the end, though.
It teaches us to go on anyway. As not everything grinds to a halt, we venture out bravely with our ski jackets, boots, and waterproof gloves. After tromping on through the accumulation and braving the wind and ice, we arrive at our destinations with a little extra satisfaction just from having made it.
Snow reminds us to play. I always enjoy seeing the way we become like kids in the snow. We can't resist that silly joy of throwing snowballs at our friends and tackling each other down. And I've seen a snowman or two and a crazy snow fort pop up on campus. (Hey, my brothers and I used to build igloos from the piles of snow shoveled off our driveway when we were kids.)
Snow gives us a whole new spectrum of opportunity for crazy edge-of-danger activities. I don't get out there enough to know this, but my brother has said that real snow makes for the best skiing/boarding slopes. So we throw caution to the wind just enough to thrill us and go flying down mountains. Maybe we come home with an extra bruise or two - but that's part of the fun.
It seems to me that the snow makes us a bit less self-conscious and a bit more accepting. We wear our puffy jackets; we put up our hoods. When we all finally tramp inside and sit down with some hot drinks to warm up, we strip off a few of the layers and the winter warmth accessories and just chat merrily, not minding anyone's messy hair or sweatshirts dampened by rogue mostly-melted snowballs. And our day becomes little bit brighter.
