A Rough Start to 2025

A Rough Start to 2025

There’s a joke circulating online that goes something like this: “I’d like to cancel my subscription to 2025. My 7-day free trial was a disaster.” And honestly, I get it. It seems like everyone has their own reasons for why the year might not be off to the smoothest start. Mine? I got sick.

It all began when my wife, Leslie, brought something home—a nasty bug that took her down first. For a few days, I held out hope that my immune system would hold strong against whatever storm she unleashed into our house. But by Wednesday, the cracks in my defenses started showing. I imagined myself as a general in a fantasy epic, yelling “HOLD THE LINE!” to my immune cells like Aragorn rallying the troops. Unfortunately, my immune system wasn’t as cooperative as the Rohirrim, and by midweek, my metaphorical walls came crashing down like Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings.

To make matters worse, the timing of my downfall couldn’t have been less ideal. Georgia was forecasted to get snow on Friday—a rare treat here—and I love snow. Growing up in Utah, I spent countless winters skiing on mountain slopes, but it’s been well over a decade since I last saw snow in person. So even though I was sick, I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of excitement at the thought of snowflakes falling again.

Thursday, though, was pure misery. Feverish and alternating between freezing cold and burning up, I couldn’t do much more than just exist. It was one of those days where the best you can hope for is getting to bedtime without falling apart completely.

But Friday morning brought a glimmer of hope—literally. I woke up around 8 a.m., still feeling awful, but determined to drag myself downstairs to see the snow. And there it was, falling softly outside, blanketing the world in white. For the first time in years, I felt that childhood joy of watching snow transform the ordinary into something magical.

Now, here’s the twist: my wife, Leslie, had never seen snow before in her entire life. Growing up in Florida, her winters were all palm trees and sand, with no snowflakes in sight. She’s not a fan of the cold, either, so I assumed she’d take one look outside and retreat under a pile of blankets. But to my surprise, she came downstairs, bundled up in layers, and declared she was ready to experience snow for the first time.

Despite both of us still being sick, we ventured outside together. Leslie built her very first snowman (a tiny one, but adorable nonetheless), made a snow angel, tossed a few snowballs, and even remembered the golden rule of snow: don’t eat the yellow stuff. She was completely enchanted, and to my delight, she announced that she loved snow and wanted to see more of it in the future. For someone who grew up dreaming of beaches, this was a huge win.

The snow didn’t last long, though. By Sunday, most of it had melted, leaving behind patches of ice and a neighborhood dripping like it was caught in a rainstorm. The bright sunlight and warming temperatures were quickly erasing the winter wonderland. But for a brief, fleeting moment, we had snow.

Speaking of snow, here is a VERY old video of my brother and I having a snow adventure of our own at Snowbird Ski Resort. This was long before I changed my name to Adam, so please excuse the reference to the dead name.