So, it is snowing in June. I find this amazing and ironic on many levels. First of all one of the reasons I didn’t move to Grand Rapids Michigan last Fall was due to the terrible winters they have. (I also wasn’t super excited about moving to a small town. Now I have moved to Draper- a small town) and on June 11th it is snowing in Draper. Luckily I have a spot where I can be secluded from the snow. In fact, the big windows in the rentals I am staying at make the bad weather look rather magical. You do feel as if you are in the center of a snow globe that has been shaken. Billy Collins (who I believe is the current poet laureate) captured this feeling of fish bowl weather in one of my favorite poems:

Billy Collins- Neither Snow
When all of a sudden the city air filled with snow,
the distinguishable flakes
blowing sideways,
looked like krill
fleeing the maw of an advancing whale.

At least they looked that way to me
from the taxi window,
and since I happened to be sitting
that fading Sunday afternoon
in the very center of the universe,
who was in a better position
to say what looked like what,
which thing resembled some other?

Yes, it was a run of white plankton
borne down the Avenue of the Americas
in the stream of the wind,
phosphorescent against the weighty buildings.

Which made the taxi itself,
yellow and slow-moving,
a kind of undersea creature,
I thought as I wiped the fog from the glass,

and me one of its protruding eyes,
an eye on a stem
swiveling this way and that
monitoring one side of its world,
observing tons of water
tons of people
colored signs and lights
and now a wildly blowing race of snow.

Who would have ever thought to compare snow to plankton! Even more, who has the talent to make such a comparison still beautiful? Amazing! I guess that is why he is the poet laureate! Ahh! My friends the sun has just come out! In my opinion there is not much prettier than the sight of the sun on a cold day- especially up here where the mountains start to glow. With all that has been happening in my life lately it is nice to know that even the weather joins me by changing moment to moment.

As far as my life goes- I went to my new ward on Sunday. It was interesting to be back in a normal chapel after attending sacrament meeting in the seminary building for 2 years. It felt as if the ward was very small but it must have been bigger than my last one. It just felt small because of the size of the room and the fact I was alone for the first time in years. I must admit that I missed my old roommates sitting in that pew all by myself. Still, I pushed on and people were friendly and welcoming. I am sure it will be a fine ward for me through the summer.

Aside from the new ward I have finally moved into my temporary housing for the summer. It feels good to at least be temporarily situated. It is nice being close to the rental properties. It will be especially nice when tenants start arriving, so I can welcome them with ease. Yesterday we got a commitment from a couple in St. George for the middle of August. That means we now have at least one commitment in each of the next 3 months with more coming in each day! I pray every night that they will keep coming in because I would certainly prefer doing this type of work than having some lame cough out corporate job. I have mentioned this before on the blog but just like I feel protected from the snow storm outside, I also feel protected from the storms of unhappiness and despair. The Lord knows me and He does want me to be happy. If nothing else, the last year has reconfirmed this truth to me. That knowledge makes anything even snow in June bearable. Take care friends and share your favorite poems with me!