Thank you Meg for sharing this picture!

Up until February of this year it just didn’t feel like winter to me. Sure it was cold some days but not cold enough to keep Jerry and me off the golf course two to three times a week. Then came February with its two snow falls – both with amounts in the single digits. Golf was now of course out of the question but the snow certainly gave nature a chance to show off one of her special gifts of natural beauty. And it brought back so many memories from childhood.

It seems to me that in childhood from late November on, snow was a possibility. Our home in Laurelton, Long island shared a double driveway with our next door neighbors. It was great for sleigh riding. You could go from the driveway to the sidewalk and then on down the sidewalk. The driveway was part hill. When I was a new sleigh rider – not sure how old but pretty young – I thought the hill was intimidating. But my two and four years older than me brothers were doing it with no problem and I was determined to do it also. Eighty plus years later I still remember the thrill I felt on my first solo ride down that hill – scared but determined. It really was a life lesson for me – sometimes fears are to be paid attention to and sometimes they are to be overcome.

Our home in Laurelton was on 224th street. Two blocks away began the woods which separated us from Springfield Gardens, the next town over. The woods were well trafficked and contained a great hill for sleding. Once I conquered our driveway hill, the hill in the woods was next. It was a very popular spot with of course no vehicular traffic – a big plus. Coming down our driveway hill if you missed the turn on to sidewalk you ended up out in the road where you had to watch carefully for cars. It was not that busy a street but still cars were an issue that our parents warned us to be conscious of.

Jerry and I have lived in three houses in our married life. The first house on Morrell Court in Kensington, Maryland was a rambler – perfect for a young couple with a precious baby boy and the four more children who quickly followed. It had a big yard and plenty of room when the snow came for outside play and for making snow men. But inside the house, room was getting a little tight with five precious little people and as the children grew older, we decided it was time to move.

House number two was on Appleby Court in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. It was a great community in which to raise children and in a snowy winter provided many venues for sledding. We lived in the back of Appleby Court and the road sloped down from there. There was Pepco Hill near by named for the hilly expanse of land that held the wired towers providing electricity for the community. Pepco Hill had an amazing hill for sledding and our children and the neighborhood children put it to good use. It had a steep beginning slope and long runout afterwards. I still remember clearly a ride that I took, that went on and on and on , and I just loved it. Before we moved an older neighbor couple whose chiildren were grown, added to our sled collection giving us a large size Flexible Flyer that was well used in the sledding years to come.

We moved to our third home in Fairfax,Virginia in 1990. Home number one was where four of our children were born. ( Son Jerry arrived when we were still apartment dwellers.) Home number two saw the children pass from the baby years into their college years. And number three saw the finish of college time and ushered in first jobs and wedding bells. It was also where I started the Naomi Project – a mentoring program for high risk pregnant women. And it was the first and only time I went to Japan on a business trip with Jerry. Busy, busy wonderful years!!!

Sadly, these past years have seen a decrease in snow fall. When Jerry and I first met in 1960 it was on March 5th, the cold day after a major snowfall in the DC area. Looking at the forecast today for next week’s March 5th the forecast is for 71 degrees. Forecasts a week off are frequently not accurate but in no way is the weather going to drop to the cold temperature of 66 years ago.

For a number of years Jerry and I have gone to Florida for the months of January, February and March. Now we don’t do that anymore but when we did it was a mixed weather blessing for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the warmth of Florida, the friends we made, and the golf and beach time that were so accessible. But I also missed the snowy winters of the North.

Snow has always been very special for me. I feel communion with these words of Aristotle: To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake , it is necessary to stand out in the cold.