Ahhh winter

Today we got a little skiff of snow where I work. It really was a little bit, not even enough to shut Portland down (which really doesn't take much). As I was scraping the window for the drive home memories of winters past came flooding into my mind. 

Like back in the early 80's. We had a pretty severe winter that year. I was going out to my car to go to work. As I stepped out the front door the moisture in my nose immediately froze. (did you like how gently I wrote that hee hee) I turned the car on and got the windows scraped. I got in the car, put it in gear and started to drive. It was making a thumping noise and was more bouncy than usual. My tires had frozen out of round. I went a little farther and drove over a small mound of frozen snow. Just enough to make my car tip just a little. Just enough to crack my dashboard  in half because it was frozen solid. 

Or how about the time I thought it would be a good idea for my husband to have a bonding experience alone with the kids. I sent them off to the forest about a half hour from our home to cut down a Christmas tree. They were gone a lot longer than I thought they would be. When he got home I found out he spent most of the day digging our little Datsun hatchback out of a snow drift they were stuck in. 

If that wasn't good enough I had them try it again the next year. We had a truck this time. They spotted the perfect tree. But instead of hiking up to it with 3 little kids he decided to drive up to it. Half way up the hill he lost traction and started sliding backwards down the hill toward a group of people standing there. (and of course my kids didn't have cars seats or seat belts) Luckily he was able to stop the car before hitting the people. 

When he got home we got back into the car and drove to Kmart to buy our first artificial tree. 

But then there are those days. You are in the house, fire in the fireplace and you look outside and it is snowing. Not that tiny beady snow. But the good snowman snow. Huge flakes heavy with water. Falling every so quietly. Insulating the ground so you can no longer hear any cars. The ground is evenly covered to perfection. The trees have long lost their leaves but are covered in the most magical frost. Maybe you can hear a far off whistle of a train. If you are truly lucky you can just stand there for just a minute and just be. 

I am grateful to be able to say at those times. 

Ahhh winter