I love watching the snow fall.
It coats the grass and the roads and the tree branches.
The whole world looks pristine and beautiful.
And then we drive on it.
The snow gets packed down and the tread marks from our tires ruin the seamless picture.
The fumes from our exhaust turn the snow a sad, dingy gray.
And sometimes, underneath it all is a layer of ice we didn't expect.
Where I live, we're often warned during a snow storm that the roads are going to be "snow covered and slippery."
If you're not careful, you can spin out going around a curve too fast or braking too hard.
I have a teenage driver now and I worry a lot about him when he's out driving in the snow.
He hasn't had much experience yet, and might not realize that it's slippery until it's too late.
In truth, he's probably a better driver than I am.
But what about the snow covered and slippery roads of life that are out there waiting for him? In just over a year he'll be out of high school and heading out into the world.
It's hard to know how well we've taught our kids to be prepared for the tough stuff that life has in store.
I know I wasn't prepared.
I had to navigate much of it myself. And there were times when I ended up experiencing some pretty tough consequences.
Throughout my boys' lives, I've tried to teach them the lessons I've learned so they don't have to do so much "the hard way."
I've told them stories about what I experienced in hopes that they won't make the same mistakes.
But much of it doesn't sink in from just talking to them about it.
At some point, we have to let our children navigate those snow covered and slippery roads themselves.
And hope for the best.
The true test will be how they actually perform when they drive on them.
How they turn into the skid when they start to spin out.
How they leave enough room between their car and the car in front of them so they can safely stop before getting into that accident.
And how they keep their emotions in check when they have to call that tow truck and figure out what to do next.
The snow is going to continue to fall.
Sometimes just a little bit - a pretty little snow shower.
Other times, it might be a blizzard, obstructing our vision and creating treacherous driving conditions.
Often it's beautiful, and we can admire the view.
But we must also expect that, sometimes, the roads will be snow covered and slippery.
And that there will be a layer of ice underneath that might cause us to slide off our path.
It's all part of life.
The clean, brilliantly white blanket of snow.
And the dirty, gray, packed down stuff with the tire tracks running through it.
May we all drive safely.
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