-


 

Snow

Mama, Daddy, Claudia, and I packed into the car and headed north from North Carolina. We were on our way to spend the Christmas holidays with “The Folks Up Home,” Daddy’s family.

As I remember, there was always snow. Maybe that’s not so, but it is how I remember it. On one of those trips in particular, we got caught in a snowstorm; maybe it was a blizzard. We got stuck in snow and Daddy had to get out to dig us free. He slipped and fell, sliding underneath the car. I can still remember the fear in Mama’s voice as she called out to him. He managed to get back up and dig us out of the snow.

As we neared Towanda, Pa. we were fortunate to get behind a cinder truck that was spreading ash from furnaces on the road for better traction. We were able to follow it all the way to our destination. In Daddy’s words, “We would never had made it over that hill if it had not been for being behind that truck.”

My sister and I, being little kids and unaware of the danger, were enthralled by the snow. We’d never seen that much in our young lives. It doesn’t snow much in eastern North Carolina. It was made even more magical by the houses that were outlined in brightly colored lights, with matching electric candle sticks in each window. I seem to remember many of them chose blue lights, but there were also some green and red. Some were multi-colored, but most were monochromatic.

Daddy liked driving at night because there was less traffic, so we usually arrived at Aunt Myrtle’s house early in the morning – breakfast time. I remember the grownups had plenty of coffee. I am sure somewhere before lunch time we had naps. But I was so excited I don’t think I did much sleeping.

Things I remember, even more than gift opening and what Santa brought, are the scent of nutmeg wafting through the house, going to Gaga and Pom Pom’s house in the country, and the always-full-cookie-jar. And the lampshade Aunt Myrtle had in her living room which had Christmas scenes all the way around. But, most of all I remember the beauty of the snow.

Snow makes everything look clean and brand new. I love when little kids build snowmen and birds leave tiny footprints as they search for birdseed or bits of stale bread offerings. I love the crunching sound of human footsteps and how later you look out the window and can see the paths of where we walked minutes or hours before.

When we did get snow in North Carolina I appreciated how it felt so warm when we came back inside after playing outdoors, our cheeks red from the cold. Nothing tasted so yummy as the hot chocolate Mama made from scratch. Yes, I still love snow and the memories it evokes.

I’m old now so I don’t hike or play in the snow. I mainly enjoy it from the warmth inside my house, taking pictures from my windows and sipping hot beverages. It’s just so beautiful. I wish it would snow.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Wasn't Really into Politics

-
Image
  I really wasn't into politics for most of my life. What I remember about politics was that Mama believed in voting for the man, not the party. Growing up almost everyone in my hometown were registered Democrat because there was some reason that had to do with voting in the primaries. I don’t know why to this day. But, in my idealistic 18-year-old brain I thought there should be a balance, so I registered Republican. And voted for Nixon! I worked at the poles and embroidered an elephant on my bell-bottomed blue jeans. Daddy defended Nixon through the whole Watergate thing, so I did too. I had no clue what it was all about. I don’t remember Mama voicing an opinion. She didn’t believe in arguing politics. It was forbidden at the dinner table. Fast forward past my young adult self. My husband was a union member and a shop-steward. He helped campaign for Kennedy. Our garage held stacks of yard signs and bumper stickers. He preached that the Democrats were for the working man. I di
Read more

I Wish I'd Asked Grandma

-
“I wish I’d asked Grandma while she was still here about the time . . ..” How many of us have said those very words? How many of us can’t remember the details of old stories once told out on the front porch after supper on a summer’s evening? Maybe we were young when the stories were being told and didn’t think we’d one day wish we’d listened more carefully. Wish we’d taken the time to write them down. I am preparing to facilitate a weeklong writing workshop titled Front Porch Stories . In this workshop we will be preserving those old stories we used to hear the grownups tell out on the front porch after supper. Before TV and computers folks told stories for entertainment. On a summer’s night after supper we sat out on the screened in front porch to catch a cool breeze and let supper settle before bedtime. We sipped iced tea or lemonade and talked. The little children played in the yard, chasing and catching lightning bugs. But even the children finally came to rest and lis
Read more

When the Lights go Out

-
Image
It is hurricane season, which heightens the chances of going without out power for a while. I learned there are lots of things we don’t really need to survive. Well, I already knew it from countless camping trips my husband and I took with the kids when they were little and we were poor. First of all flashlights will get you to the bathroom without stubbing your toes. And you can read by flashlight, find the potato chips and check to make sure the kids didn’t sneak out in the middle of the night. Second, cooking on the grill or over a wood fire is fun – for three days then it’s a pain in the tail because the kids get tired of gathering deadfall. Third, a five-gallon bucket and a toilet plunger will make a pretty good washing machine, and then there is the solar powered dryer, aka the clothesline. There are plenty of things you can do for fun besides watch TV or hanging out on social media: board games, read, walk, play out doors, sew, paint and draw, arts and crafts
Read more