Winter Love Memories...

 

I still have my sled from when I was a kid.
Last night I overheard the weather man say it was going to snow!

Honestly, my favorite thing about  winter, SNOW! I'ts been like that since I was a kid and hasn't changed.

The first big snow of the season we couldn't wait to grab our sleds and scurry outside to slide down that big hill on Truman Road. That hill brings back lots of memories. I also fell off my bike when I was eight and had seven stitches in my chin. I still loved that hill!

 My sled was the fastest on the block! I used to run paraffin over the blades of the sled for extra traction. 

We'd stay out all day long playing in the snow, maybe with an occasional warm up inside, just a few minutes, didn't want to waste one bit of the beautiful snowy day. 

 Andy Gump and I were the oldest in the neighborhood, we raced each other down the hill. My sled always won, of course! That's how I remember it anyway! 

One winter stands out above all... We had tons of snow!

I built a huge igloo out of the snow. It took hours to construct. You could even stand up in the igloo, well that is if you weren't over 4 feet tall. The local newspaper owners lived across the street and noticed the well designed igloo and took a shot of it for the cover of next weeks paper.

Back then it seems it got colder. Global cooling I believe they called it back then in the sixty's and seventy's.

On the outskirt's of town just a few miles away was a place called Hartell Lakes. I loved this place! There were several small lakes surrounded by beautiful Missouri countryside. I remember many summers camping with my family, as well as winters spent skating.  

When it got really cold my Dad would ask me if I wanted to go ice skating. I would call my friend Tracy H. and the three of us would put on our winter gear and head for the lakes.  

My Dad would grab his hatchet and head towards the middle of the lake. There he would chisel away the frozen ice making sure it was safe for us to skate on. Once we got the okay, Tracy and I, already skated up. would skate onto the ice. I remember Tracy and Dad being a little braver than I.

They skated all over the lake, I stayed closer to the shore line. Not really the dare devil I thought I was, huh.

I remember watching my Dad skate. He was an amazing skater. He skated backwards with ease. I was in awe the first time I watched my Dad skate, wondering how does he know how to do this so well? I was never as talented on the ice as my Dad.

As I've gotten older, these memories hold dear to my heart. I guess that's why I 'm so fond of winter and snow!

Although I haven't ice skated since those Hartell Lake days, sledding continues to be a favorite winter sport with my family, and that walk in the newly fallen snow, a winter tradition now that helps me hang on to those Winter Love Memories.

Enjoy caring and sharing winter days.

Happily,

Jill 00 (Two hugs are better than none)