I grew up in a little town named Thurmond. I lived on what is now called Mountain Top Road although it is not on a mountain top. In fact it is really in what is referred to as the foothills. It was a dirt and gravel road that led to nowhere. I will never forget taking a friend to my house one night after dark and his comment was " This isn't really a driveway , is it? You are taking me out here to kill me and dump my body." Let's just say I lived in the boonies.Our little part of the world was named Possum Trot Valley. I still to this day do not know who named it that or why.This little section of the world did not see salt trucks or snow plows. When it snowed, you had better have everything you were gonna need for awhile cause you weren't going anywhere.
I have memories of snow that could only be measured by a yard stick. I am not good at measuring distances but just down the road from our home there was a pasture with a really kick butt sledding hill.Sledding would become a community event. The men of the neighborhood would go before the rest of us and build a bonfire , not only for light, because the sledding party was after dark at times, but also for warmth to ward off frostbite . We would all trek, dragging our sleds behind us, to the sledding hill. The adults would go down first , to pack the snow down and then it was our turn. A good run was when you had to dig in your feet to come to a stop so you didn't end up in the creek at the bottom of the hill.A not so good run was when you didn't steer just right and flipped over about half way down.
There was nothing like the feeling of flying down that hill. We didn't care how cold it was. We didn't care that our eyes watered and noses were dripping. We didn't care how brutal the trudge back up that hill was. This was the epitome of childhood fun. I don't know how long we would stay on the hill. I guess when we just couldn't go anymore , we would trudge back home and warm up and settle in for sleep.
It is currently snowing at my house and the forecast is for 12 plus inches. I went out this morning and bought a yard stick in hopes that a regular 12 inch ruler won't do the trick. I know a bunch of people hate snow and I understand the reasoning. I realize some people have to go to work no matter how much snow is on the ground. I understand that it is inconvenient for some. I also know that I have two children who have never seen more than about 6 inches of the white stuff.
I have a picture of Ben when he was a toddler playing in some snow. I remember that one. I tried my best to ball up enough snow for a snowman with no luck. I have pictures of Ben and Cara and a snowman that we built in the front yard while Eric was in Iraq. That was the most snow we have had in their lifetimes and that was the 6 inches I mentioned above. I remember their excitement and I remember thinking how sad it was that they had never experienced snow like I remember snow from my childhood . We have all been sledding together in the back yard but never have experienced having to trek back up the hill in snow to their knees.
I know I am in the minority when it comes to loving snow. I do hope we get the forecasted amounts. I want to see the wonder in my children's eyes when they see what that much snow looks like. I want to bundle up and build a snowman with them. I want to sled and make more than 5 runs before seeing grass underneath the path. I want the snow of my childhood.
Here is what I predict. I predict that there will be happy excited children playing outside and enjoying snow cream before bed time tonight. I predict that adults will remember how to play and spend quality time with their children , building snowmen and sledding down hills in their back yards. I predict people having to call into work tomorrow because of impassable roads and instead spending time with loved ones.I predict that we will all be forced to just slow down and instead of smelling the roses, we are allowed to catch a glimpse of spectacular glistening beauty created by our heavenly Father.I predict that instead of running around doing the stuff we do everyday, we all have a little down time . Maybe we get to sleep in tomorrow morning. Maybe I will get to start that book I bought a couple of weeks ago. I predict numerous amounts of memories being made and pictures being snapped to document those for years to come. I predict that for snow lovers like me, we will bask in the peacefullness of it all while the snow haters will keep on hating. I can't predict snow fall amounts but I believe I am pretty spot on about my people predictions.
I hope your snow cream is sweet, your sleds are fast, and you take a little time to see the beauty in the flakes falling from the heavens.
