Snow and Silence
By Molly Flinkman | January 2025 Newsletter
I’ve been researching snow. (This is the kind of thing I enjoy doing in my free time. My Google search history is something to behold. The open Chrome tabs on my phone contain multitudes. I like to know about things. I also like to tell people about all the interesting tidbits I find, which brings me back to the snow.)
I live in the center of Iowa where snow is a winter staple. I grew up sledding and building snowmen and going to sleep praying school would be cancelled in the morning. One year, when my husband, Jake, and I were newly married, it snowed sometime in early December, and then we didn’t see the grass again until it melted in March. Even now, as I am writing these words, big flakes are falling softly outside my window; about an inch has accumulated so far. Later, after it stops, I will put on my warmest winter coat and snow boots, walk outside to the center of the yard, and listen.
Silence will meet me.
This is my favorite part of a snowfall, and if you’ve never really been around snow, maybe you didn’t know that this is part of its magic: there is a certain quiet that comes with it—a post-snow hush.
This brings me to the research. I wanted to know why—why it is so silent after the snow falls, and, as it turns out, there is a reason: The snowflakes trap soundwaves. The sounds from passing cars or barking dogs get absorbed by the gaps in the snow. The sound can’t bounce around like usual, so it really is quieter in the wake of a storm as long as the snowflakes are big and fluffy.
The snow serves as a reprieve from all of the regular noise around us.
I wonder if I could translate some of this into my regular life. I wonder if I could find some gaps to send all the excess noise. I wonder if there is a way to usher more stillness into my life.
And I’m not talking about my kids because, goodness knows, they’ll never be quiet. One of my kids in particular has made it his life’s work to see if he can make sound at all possible times, and he can. He really can.
No, I’m talking about noise. The unnecessary voices. The unrealistic expectations. The unneeded information. Can I replace those things with quiet moments? Can I take a walk without my AirPods? Can I stand in line at the grocery store without scrolling Instagram? Can I read a book in the living room without once picking up my phone?
I can; it’s just a question of whether or not I will.
I don’t want to have to wait for a snowfall to embrace silence.
That being said, the snow finally stopped falling which means there’s someplace I have to be right now.
The quiet is waiting.
Love, Molly
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 | A guest post by
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Can I share a "noise reduction" technique I just started that has worked surprisingly well so far? I created a "docking spot" for my phone on my kitchen counter - it's actually an empty flower pot. It's where my phone goes when I'm not actively using the screen- so that I don't carry it around the house and keep it within arms reach all the time. The idea is to treat more phone more like a "land line" while I'm at home. And my phone sits upright in it so I can see if a text came in while I was in the other room, without actually picking up my phone.
I have been amazed what about difference this has made for the exact examples you gave - reading a book without stopping to pick up my phone etc. just decreasing the availability and frequency of actually touching my phone helps so much with not getting sucked in. Just like with snow, sometimes we need a physical thing to absorb the noise, and I think that's what the docking station is doing for me.
Thanks for your lovely writing!
As an alternative to supper club I started a brunch club with 3 of our families closest friends so 4 whole families total (kids and all!) We meet one Saturday each month, rotate who hosts, hosts pick the theme but everyone brings a dish. Brunch is the best time with kids! Generally no one’s missing a nap or needs to take off for bedtime and the kids can be outside!
It is such a great way to consistently get together with friends and there’s not the added stress of finding (or paying) a babysitter.