Snowpocalypse comes to Seattle. In this town, that translates into about five inches. It’s definitely enough to shut everything down, though. Especially living up on Capitol Hill where the roads are steep and narrow, transportation becomes impossible. Walk or stay home.

The last week has been glorious. Maybe it’s my Vermont roots, but the snow seems to have made the whole town wake up and smile. We had a solid day of snow, as predicted, and then a second day of snow and icy rain, not predicted. People skipped work, or worked from coffee shops, cross country skiers took to the sidewalks, cars lay tucked away and unreachable in the snow.

I love the snow, being snowed in, and having to make a real effort to trek to the nearest coffee shop for a warm beverage. The brightness of reflection on an otherwise gray day. The weather seems to foster a sense of community that I haven’t seen before in Seattle. People raise their heads from the dark- and rain-induced cocoons and actually take a look around. We’re all struggling against a common difficulty, and everyone’s life is affected. We can relate to each other.

I called a few friends over for a snowball fight, and once they showed up we had about 7 people building snow forts and hurling snow balls. The best part, though, was that our neighbors started to come outside and join in. People I’d never met before, despite living about 35 paces apart. People I should already know, and who I am now committed to developing some kind relationship with, even if it’s just recognizing them at the grocery store to say “Hi.” In the end, about 15 cold and wet people came up to our apartment from the snow for mulled wine.

The last remnants of slush and ice are vanishing today (the walls of the snow fort are the last to go), but the mood persists. A crust has been peeled off our eyes and brains, rejuvenating the neighborhood as we head back into a few more months of darkness and rain. A great week in Seattle.