Winter

HAPPY NEW YEAR READERS!!

I don't think I was ever a fan of winter - even as a child. You would think that all kids would like to play in the snow and build forts and snowmen. I can really say that I was never a fan.

What I do remember about snow and being outside when I was little was freezing cold feet. Freezing cold fingers. Nose hairs stuck together because of the cold OR a constant drip of the nose that usually ended up in your mouth.

I also remember the lung shrinking that you felt when you breathed in the cold air. I remember the moisture of the mitten and on your face when you would put your mitten up to your face to warm the air.

I tried skiing - I thought, if I enjoyed a winter sport, maybe I would enjoy winter more. That wasn't too successful either. I kept getting cramps in my feet and when you have those ski boots on, getting them off to deal with the foot cramps was just not going to happen.

I constantly wondered how I could make the spring come sooner. What could I do to make the snow go away to make way for the better weather. I thought if there was no snow, then there was no winter.

My solution - as a child - was to take all the snow around my house and lay it out on the road, on the side walk anywhere I could smooth it out. After the smoothing process, I would stomp it, breathe on it, spread it out more. When it turned to water, I would get more snow from pile and do my best to melt it.

I REALLY thought that if I could melt all the snow, then spring would come.

These days I am an adult and I still have the same distaste for winter and snow. However, now, instead of laying the snow out and trying to melt it, I drive through as much as I can on the edges of the road to spread it out and hope that the smaller piles melt faster and spring will be on it's way.