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My Michigan Snow Globe by Lisa Genesen

People are shocked that our second home is six hours away. There are very nice beaches and woods just outside of Chicago. What can be worth a six hour drive into Northern Michigan? The answer is simple, snow. Winter can be fickle at the southern end of Lake Michigan, but you can count on snow at the 45th parallel.

And our first Christmas Up North didn't disappoint us. The snow started falling at Thanksgiving. So, the third week in December, we loaded up the car in Chicago with lots sweaters and four boxes of Christmas decorations and headed north. On the car ride up we sang Christmas carols along with the radio and planned new winter traditions. First thing, we'd head for the woods and cut down a Christmas tree. Christmas Eve, we'd skate on the lake. On Christmas day we'd do a couple of runs down the ski hill after opening presents and later that night, cross country skiing under the full moon.

After arriving at the house we raced to unpacking and then headed for the tree farm. Driving carefully on the ice covered roads we guessed the location of the unplowed parking lot, pulling up next to a tree stump that held a rusty saw and a plastic milk jug containing forty dollars. The day was clear and cold and my nose was starting to run. But off we went with our young daughter for the thrill of cutting down a tree. We hiked among the snow drifts for about ten minutes until we circled around the perfect tree. After posing for pictures, we sawed away.

By the time my husband finished cutting the tree my runny nose was now also a cough. I dragged myself back to the car as the chills set in. By the time we got home I could only make it as far as the couch. And I remained there while my husband and daughter decorated the tree.

I was lying on the couch content to look out the big windows that face the lake, as the snow started drifting down in huge flakes. There wasn't a hint of wind and the snowflakes floated gracefully around the towering pines. I felt like I was encased in a shaken snow globe.

After dinner, I convinced myself that I was a little better and we decided to initiate the first annual Christmas Eve skate on the lake. The knee deep snow made our walk to the lake an adventure in itself. An earlier wind had blown the snow off the cove and we quickly laced up our old skates and headed onto a smooth, solid sheet of ice. We skated around under the moonlight until the fever caught up with me. Then, another endless walk, only to, once again, make it as far as the couch.

Christmas morning, it was obvious that my fever would keep me on the couch all day. In the afternoon my husband and daughter went over to the ski hill. I drifted in and out of sleep with the snowflakes falling around me. My family came home to report that the fresh powder and empty ski runs were wonderful. My cold had progressed enough that I didn't care. Just sitting in my snow globe was activity enough for me.

I've been lucky. I haven't been sick on a winter trip Up North since. Which is good, since we keep very busy sledding and skiing and skating. We don't spend much time in the house. But, late on a frosty eve or early on a snowy morn, I can be found lying on the couch watching the snow silently sailing down pass the pines. Someone will ask if I'm okay. They worry I might be coming down with something. No, I'm just doing one of my favorite winter activities. I'm sitting in my snow globe.

Posted/updated Dec 12, 2005
by Andrew McFarlane (Absolute Michigan)