Yesterday we woke up to snow! It was cold and beautiful. Shkoder was being dusted in white, just in time for Christmas. At first, I thought it was just sleeting, but after leaving the house I was pleasantly surprised to see white everywhere. The garden looked almost mystical, with the cacti and palm trees all dusted in white.

We made our way to my family home and on the way met school children, all happy to be in the snow and my father’s words came to mind. Every time it snowed he would say “La neve e’ la gioia dei bambini” (Snow is the happiness of children) and how right he was. How many times, we, as children rejoiced at the sight of snow. How many times did we drag out our sleds at the first snow and run outside finding a hill, any kind of hill, just so we could slide down it and scream. How many times did we have snowball fights or build a snowman.

Every time it snowed when I was little I remember being happy. Snow does make children happy and sometimes adults too!”