First Snow in Mansfield

Okay I'll be the first to admit it. I was compelled to got outside to day, I was due for a little exercise and yes I stuck out my tongue to catch the falling snowflakes. It has been about five years since I have been anywhere near the snow and that was for a weekend ski trip where the temperatures topped sixty degrees. It has been more like eight years since I have been outside when it is actively snowing.
Okay so nothing is sticking to the ground yet. I put on my green hat and leopard print gloves, my scarf and my jacket and a pair of closed toed shoes and made my way down the hill. I followed the rivulets of runoff, the iridescent streams composed of oil and other toxic fluids from the parking lots. As I pass the mailboxes I am keenly aware my shoes are not waterproof. My toes were just cold but now they are indeed wet. Time to turn around.
Okay so the lady pulling into the otherwise deserted complex looked at me like I was crazy to be out in the cold. As I passed her getting out of her car she asked me where I had bought my hat. I replied, I've had it forever, I really can't remember (not entirely true because it must have come from California where hats such as this one are more for fashion and less about function). “It's a nice one”, she said. “You know”, I remembered suddenly, “My sister gave it to me for my birthday a while back”. This is entirely true, she had bought me the perfect green knit hat for Christmas one year, it is not easy to find the perfect hat, I promptly lost it on a bus leaving New York City. The next year for my birthday she found me this one, only a close imitation of the first but it was sweet of her to remember.
Okay so I walk back up to my building wondering if the rivulets will be frozen in the morning and noticing my jacket is wet. It is snowing harder and I am glad I decided not to take a long walk. The warmth of reentering my apartment makes the cold worth it. Snow I am remembering, is best enjoyed from the inside looking out, but then of course it is much harder to catch with your tongue.