Snow Days Reminiscing

This winter is colder and snowier than others in recent years. I’m not a lover of winter. However, as a resident of the Northeast, I expect cold and snow at this time of year. It’s okay. Winter has a beauty of its own.

I remember digging snow tunnels and building snow forts as a child. And snowmen. I didn’t like snowball fights because, well, the snowballs hurt when they hit me. My brothers and I made paths through the snow to play Fox and Geese. It’s a game of tag in which the designated fox chases the geese along the paths until he tags one, who then becomes the fox. I tried to never leave my footprint within the snow angels I made.

The hill behind our house was perfect for whooshing downhill on sleds. Some evenings we set aside for tobagganing. An older brother or sister would build a campfire at the top of the hill up the road. The tobaggan could hold three or four people, depending in the size of the people, and we’d glide faster and faster down the hill until the tobaggan stopped or until we tipped off. Then we had to climb back up the hill to take our next ride. Wonderful memories.

Snow days from school gave us extra opportunity to play outdoors. We, of course, didn’t have cell phones or computers. We put together puzzles, played board games, or amused ourselves. I loved to get in some extra reading.

It wasn’t always fun. One winter day, my brothers, sister, and I set out to walk to the school bus. The snow lay several inches thick as the snowplow and sander hadn’t cleared our dirt road yet. My brothers made it to the school bus waiting at the end of the road. My father saw that my sister and I were having difficulty. He got in his car to pick us up and take us to the bus stop, and his car slid into the ditch. He used his farm tractor and pulled the car out of the ditch. He drove us ten miles to school, but when we arrived, the school district had decided to close school and send all students home. Oh, well.

In the calm and peace of early morning, I enjoy shoveling snow. The air is different before sunrise. Only a few noises break into the silence. You can hear the snowflakes falling. When the snow is light and fluffy, it tickles your nose. Larger flakes land on your coat sleeves, exposing their intricate designs. When the wind is blowing, or the snow deep and heavy, the story may be different. However, the snow must still be moved. Time for my husband to get out the snowblower.

Some days, I’m tempted to go out and play in the snow. I’d like to join my Texas granddaughter, or any of my granddaughters, for some fun. I’d brave the red nose and frosty fingers and toes to build a snowman or play Fox and Geese. I’m not sure about the sledding. Maybe if the hill isn’t too steep or bumpy.

The snow lines branches with tree frosting and snowflowers on the trees and shrubbery. In the sun. the snow sparkles like diamonds. Snow is an insulator for the soil, protecting bulbs and roots (and our water pipes) that lie underground from the frost and cold.

God has given us four seasons, each unique, each with a purpose. “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 Our lives have seasons, also, in which to accomplish what God has planned for us.

Beth E Westcott