Right off the bat let me just say that although I recycle and I have those reusable grocery bags so I don’t fill up a landfill with the disposable ones, I basically think the whole global warming hoopla is Al Gore’s revenge for the fact that people in Florida didn’t like him enough to punch the whole chad out of the ballot. Having said that, I have to ask, what happened to snow? If you’re over 30 you know what I mean. The kind of snow that built up in drifts and stayed on the roads long enough to allow for a couple of days of decent sledding. The kind of snow that was still there after 2:00 pm on the day it fell. It’s true that I do live in South Carolina, not a place traditionally thought of as a snow bunny’s paradise. But even back home in Kentucky where I grew up there never seems to be a good old-fashioned winter anymore. Today a “snow day” off school means the back roads might be a little dicey before 8 am so we need to keep the buses off the road. It doesn’t mean there are going to be kids sledding down hills or building snowmen in the yard. Mainly, they’re just going to get cold and wet and be bored by lunchtime.
Last night we had the most beautiful snow falling. I had never seen flakes so big and everything outside looked like a postcard. . .even the never-ending construction zone that comprises my neighbor’s new addition out back. The moon was reflecting off the snow and everything was bright outside and magical. By this afternoon my kitchen floor was a sloppy wet mess and my dog’s paws were the color of that crayon we used to call “burnt sienna.” What had been a winter wonderland at midnight was a droopy, dripping, soppy mess that even the kids were sick of.
When I was a kid I lived on a country road at the top of a pretty significant hill and when the snow came that meant one thing – sledding. The kids who lived close by would come trudging up the hill and we’d slide down over and over, only stopping to go inside long enough to thaw our hands and feet and let our pant legs dry out a little. My mom would make snow cream and hot soup and we’d warm up and head back out for more adventure even though the walk back up the hill would put a Nordic Track to shame. We’d usually get at least a couple of good days of sledding out of it, until the farmers decided they just had to work and started driving on the road which melted tracks in the snow and destroyed our slick pathways.
Now I live in the suburbs where there aren’t many hills and even if there were, there is way too much traffic to give kids access to the best of them. City folks don’t know how to appreciate snow days. We still go to work and drive everywhere with no thought at all to messing up the sledding runs we call roads. But I’d like to think that if we got more snow and if it stayed cold just for a day or two we’d see kids zooming down any backyard incline and snowmen decked out in their winter finery. I could make snow cream before the snow is melted down to the dirt and the kids could warm their toes before heading back out all bundled up and shielding their little red noses from the wind. I took some pictures in the remaining snow this afternoon. I was wearing shorts and no coat when I went out to shoot some shots of my dog frolicking in the rapidly melting slush. It lacked something in the “magic” category.
I wish my kids could know snow days the way I remember them. But since they cannot I sometimes wake them in the middle of the night when it’s snowing so they can look out at the world reflecting moonlight off the icy crystals and, for a moment, feel all that is magical about living in the world when it’s covered in a soft winter blanket.
Melinda says
It’s nice to hear a Southern girl reminisce about snow. Being from Minnesota we had endless snow usually from December into March and didn’t see the last snow piles melt until in April. Definitely another world up there. Although there was a string of winters recently where snow was pretty scarce and that was very weird. There was even one Christmas without snow, which is unheard of in my neck of the woods. I do miss it. When we had that snowfall back in January I was out taking multiple pictures before it melted. I even posted some on my blog. 🙂
Jean says
I grew up primarily in Alabama and we didn’t get much snow and if we did, it didn’t stick to the ground. What we did have were severe ice storms where the ice hung from the trees, bushes, phone lines, and roof tops for two days. It had a very gloomy feel to it but it was beautiful to see and somewhat mezmerizing. At night, if the moon was full, the moonlight would dance off of the ice and it would look like chandeliers and crystal gems. Whenever the sun came out, it would sparkle with ribbons of gold and silver and sometimes it would shine like the iridescent mother-of-pearl on the shell of an oyster. I wish my children and grandchildren could experience this, but like the snow, we don’t get this much anymore.
Lisette says
I hate snow…bring it on global warming!!! I do believe we’re warming, but not for the reasons Gore says. According to many notable scientists, you were growing up at the latter part of a mini ice age….we’re warming up and will soon, according to these fine folks, cool down again…which will be great for you, but it’ll suck for people like me! The Global Warming dilema is not new. At the turn of the 19th century it was believed to be getting colder due to the cutting down of trees….go figure!!!
Suellen says
I so know what you mean. If it snows just a little, I call it a “snow day”. Before Davis gets up, I lie in bed and watch the snow fall. That quiet blanket falling just seems to make me happy-probably because mom was a teacher. Then, when Davis gets up, we stay in our jammies, drink hot chocolate, dance around and watch Thomas and Cars over and over until I am glad the snow has melted!