My first snowfall that never was

Last Sunday was an exceptionally extraordinary day. My son and I were left at home while my wife went off to the CBD for her part-time work. It was a gloomy, overcast sky, and the wind occasionally howled through the fence, warning us to just stay in the house. And that we did.

By mid-morning it had started to rain. But there was a different noise to it altogether. It was like small stones were being thrown on the roof. I knew what it was and a peek through the curtain confirmed that: we were having hailstones. The pebble-like ice were jumping about the grass and on the pavement. That was fun! A few minutes later, it suddenly stopped and the sun began to shine. Yes! Finally some heat! I opened the curtains to let the light in. But only about 10 minutes had passed by when the sun decided to hide and there came another onslaught of hail! So I drew the curtains again to keep away the cold. After an hour or so, the sun started peeking out again and I opened the curtains once more. But soon afterwards, it started raining again, and then more hail! Is this weather unpredictable or what?

We soon got tired of anticipating the weather changes and looked to the TV, internet, and games to keep us occupied.

My wife arrived soon after and then she asked? "Were you able to see it?" "See what?", I asked. "The snow", she replied.

Whaaaattt. It snowed? "At around 2PM, something like thinly-shaved ice were gliding and wafting about in the air", she said. "When the wind would blow, these things would get blown about and swirl with the wind. It was beautiful. Some landed on my jacket and I saw my first snow!" I can only stare.

The following day, we visited friends (it was the Queen's birthday and was a holiday across New Zealand) and they talked once again about the snow of yesterday, which lasted for 10-15 minutes. Was I bummed out that I was not able to experience it!

It was the first ever snowfall that I never had.