We're still digging out from the 15-plus inches of snow we received Tuesday night and Wednesday. The city is slowly coming back to life but the first day was a nightmare for many.
The kindness of neighbors continues to amaze me. My father is no longer on the sick pillow but still recovering from pneumonia. Twice he's gone outside to shovel and neighbors run over to send him in the house. Even I have done some shoveling but when I told a friend, he didn't believe me.
Do you remember the feeling of waiting to hear if school was cancelled for the day? I swear a collective cheer could be heard throughout my childhood neighborhood once we knew it was a snow day. It was too dangerous to tromp to the bus stop or walk to school but we could be suited up and out to play in minutes. Sledding, making snow angels, building snowmen or just romping. It was all such fun. Although I will admit to being a weenie about sledding. High speed was never my goal and I always feared hitting a tree. Life can't be all fun -- I recall being knocked off a sled or two. Then it's take a break, have some cocoa, then bundle up for round two.
Snow days for adults have less appeal. We worry about straining our back while shoveling. Frankly, I worry about the old bird across the street who reshovels the end of her driveway. Is this really worth the risk at her age? When my prior oldies (the Belle and the Captain) lived with us, they could fall for no reason at all. Walking through the house was a fall waiting to happen. Yet this neighbor who is older than they were is out there on a mission.
We worry about the condition of the roads. We worry about other drivers. I am always certain I will get stuck and I usually do. Hot chocolate doesn't seem like enough of a reward for risking my life behind the wheel. Nine layers of clothing make most of us look and feel like the Goodyear blimp -- never my fashion goal.
I don't wish to be a child again but I wouldn't mind having a moment of the pure ecstasy associated with snow days.
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2009
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January
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- I Cannot Wrap My Mind Around It
- Snow Days
- But Wait, There's More!
- Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
- Do Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth?
- Another Example of Why I Hate Birds
- No Privacy
- Butts and Guts
- The Transition
- Forty-Seven Years
- Time to Cowgirl Up
- Drugged Out
- Indiana in the National News Again
- Alright Already
- A Steak and Some Rock & Roll
- Are You Ready?
- Hurry Up and Wait
- On The Sick Pillow
- MotherAunt and SisterCousin
- Where's the Cord?
- Winter Vacations
- Resolutions
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January
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6 comments:
What a winter it's been for you guys - in so many ways.
Spring's around the corner.
I would join you for the hot cocoa but can I add Bailey's Irish Cream?
I have this memory of us getting knocked of the sled or maybe it was an inter tube, anyway I think we laughed so hard it made the pain go away!
Old bird-- that cracks me up. I remember your exchange with that old bird when you would not pick up the papers you threw in her yard. I bet she is still as strong.
Sledding at Pleasant Run brings lots of memories-- even in our freshman year I remember Kirk dislocating his collarbone over christmas break. We are never to old to have fun in the snow.
I was at Ft. Harrison park behind my house today and the huge sled hill is finally in full swing. I hope to get the nephews there this weekend and relive my youth.
take care,
Rich
OMG! Do I have a lot to say on this subject! First of all I cant'e help remember all the fun we used to have in the tremendous amounts of snow we used to get as kids. Seems like we don't get that anymore. I remember the blizzard of '78 and climbing to the top of the trees in the backyard and jumping into the snow. I think about that now and think if my boys did that I'd be freaked out thinking they'd suffacate in the snow. There was always "car sledding" grabbing ahold of the back of someones Bill Baue 's car (spelling ?) and car sliding down the street. Oh, those were the days. Fast forward to today . . . 3 young boys and 3 days out of school!!! We made an igloo and a snowboard ramp the first day and went on a few quick snowmobile rides the second. They're getting stir crazy and grandma might not be available. Anyway, we made it through til the 3rd and "God Bless Grandma". Hope to go sledding at Ft. Ben with Uncle Rich on Sunday.
Kim
I just have to share this with you, otherwise, you may never know!
Each year as Aunt Zelma (Bobbi to you) and Uncle Paul traveled to their winter/summer home(s) perspectively, they would always make a "pit stop" at our home for a wk-end or overnight. One particular time (I'll bet your mom will remember), we begged Aunt Zelma to stay an extra day, so the cousins could play. We wore her out begging and begging, until finally she said, "Okay, Okay, I will make a deal with you. If it snows 12 inches tonight, we will stay." No snow was predicted.
We woke up to almost 2 feet of snow and they got to stay with us for over a week. We had a ball!
We took our sleds and went to the Tennessee School For The Deaf" which was at the end of the Boulevard in our neighborhood. There was a huge hill called "Dummy Hill" (cruel, huh?) and the parents would build a huge Bon Fire and provide coffee and cocoa and the moon would be so bright that the world looked "Blue" upon that hill. We would sled until late into the night.
We do not have snows like that anymore, snows that lay the bushes over and keep you closed in for days. When I heard about YOUR latest snow, I could only smile in nostalgia, somewhat missing those days so long ago.
No, the shoveling is not to be missed and I worried greatly over your Aunt and Uncle feeling they just had to "weather the storm" by going out in the worst of it. (It was the Blind leading the Blind). of course, they got stuck and had to call in the troops...i.e., oldest son.
I miss those childhood days...never again to know the innocence and free heart that existed with each snowflake we caught on our tongues.
Thanks for stirring great memories!
Bren
Reading what Bren wrote brought a flood of memories. Going over to Pleasant Run Golf Course and sledding for hours. Sounds like Bren had memories from a fairy tale; sledding in the night with a bonfire in the background, how beautiful. I've been telling my boys about the blizzard of '78 and how we climbed to the top of the trees in the back yard and jumped into the 2 feet of snow we had. Seemed fun at the time but now I think about how dangerous it could have been (that's the mom in me). Kim
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