magical, miraculous McKinney

I moved to McKinney, Texas for many reasons, but one of the main ones was to get away from the snow, the feet of snow I had shovelled in Steamboat Springs. I grew up in the Dallas area, and I knew that snow didn't last but a few hours here. Not so this time.
Just a couple of nights ago here's what the downtown looked like.

There was no getting away from being outside at 10:30 at night to start a snowball fight with the only people brave enough to play in the snow. Let me just say that those were by far the hardest snowballs I've ever encountered. They might as well have been paint balls shot from guns.

It was romantic and juicy, so beautiful and alive. The air crackled with every breath. It was everything I ever thought snow could be, even though I'd been living in a state for 34 years that got plenty of it. There's nothing so magical as receiving such a gift when it's so unexpected though, and this truly was unexpected.

And, of course, it wasn't real until a snowman was born. Okay, maybe "man" is an exaggeration, but it was at least something made of snow that held twigs for its arms. It stayed vertical until morning, so that in itself qualifies as a miracle here in McKinney, Texas.

Days later, the snow is still on the ground, along with tree limbs and bush twigs. The sun has finally come out, and I plan to open a bottle of red wine, pour myself a glass, and toast to such an amazingly magical place that I now call home.