Expected bad weather brings back memories

Wintertime

Reflecting back to wintertime

When I was just a child

Wintertime to me was harsh

Hardly ever mild

Snow piled up around our old house

The wind beat on the door

And inside around the heating stoves

Coal buckets lined the floor

The walls were cold the floors had cracks

And the covers were too few

Not a winter passed without complaint

“I think I have the flu”

The window panes were frosted

I usually scratched my name

Just to pass the time away

It was a silly game

We sat around and waited

For spring time to begin

We were always elated

When the seed catalogs came in

Sometimes I ventured out

To make angels in the snow

And I sledded down the road

With my little sister in tow

Finally the crocuses raised their little heads

The groundhog checked his shadow

And I waited for Mother Nature

To paint our lovely meadow

Now if I could go back to visit

Those winters that I knew

I’d grab my hat and don my coat

And run all the way home too

This week we are expecting our first measurable snowfall of the season after rain and ice cover the ground and around… Our son-in-law is coming to our house today to salt down the driveway and sidewalks.

We all know a fresh snowfall is a beautiful, pristine winter happening. Children and adults alike love and enjoy many outside activities that a snowy playground can afford in a winter wonderland.

That type of weather reminds me of those harsh blasts from my past. Everything else my poem covers as it were yesterday.

The springtime of my life wasn’t all about hard work and gloom and dread during those winter bone-chilling days. Snowmen , igloos, sledding and animal tracking was all on my to-do list. Snowball fights with anyone willing to participate and icicle knockdowns fit nicely around a mix of outside chores.

We attended grade school in all kinds of weather and knew little about so-called snow days. I attended Alabama Street School the first four years toward my education. Shanks ponies was my only means of transportation regardless of weather conditions, only missing school during sick days. I must admit to being a bit puny due to a major illness a few years before day one.

I fell a lot going to and from school when the drifts were high on my street and other side streets. Hendrix Street was often ice covered and slick as glass when the weather took a turn for the worst. Wrecks and spinning tires were common.

Elderly pedestrians were scarce. Dog owners often allowed their pets to run at large and dog packs frequented the route I followed on their way to from woods behind our house.

Three bully boys would lace snowballs with pebbles and called my friends and I names which I did not know the meaning of at the time. I recall my dad was not a good source of information….

I look back with a grin when I remember those harsh winter happenings.

Now the only path I will take if we are snowed in is a path to the mailbox. I will eat, sleep and still be Mary when the storm finishes spreading its wrath. I am mask ready to wake up and shine!

Reach me by phone at 317-286-7352.