Snow Kidding!

We're experiencing our first big snowstorm of the season, which always brings back a ton of childhood memories for me. I figured I'd share a couple with you (lucky you!):

* I so remember the anticipation of a coming snow-storm, and the desperate begging to Mother Nature to blanket us in a winter-wonderland so that school would be canceled. I remember listening intently to KYW-1060 for our school number to be read from the school-closing list. When the number "4-5-0" came across, the jubilation I felt was immeasurable. And, it's not like I went back to bed. Nope, I would immediately put on my winter gear, and head outside with friends to go sledding, play snow hockey, have snow-ball fights, and build snow forts. We'd take a brief break for lunch, and then journey outside into the the heavenly snow to continue our winter frolicking. Man, I miss it!

* I always love looking outside at the fresh snow on the lawn, on the street, and in the tree. It always feels like a winter post-card. Sadly, the scene doesn't stay that way for long, and my back doesn't seem to enjoy the snow nearly as much as the rest of me does (as evidenced by the pain it registers during and after snow shoveling).

* We are fortunate to live near a bar, so it's always fun to trek to a local watering hole during a blizzard, and enjoy the company of others with cabin fever.

* Sledding has always been a big part of a snow storm. We were lucky enough to have a couple of streets in front of our house that were very hilly. We also had a great hilly park near us with a nice-sized hill called "Monument Hill." (It is named this because T=there is a monument dedicated to soldiers who sacrificed their lives for freedom during World War 1.) This was a gathering place of many of my grade-school friends - we'd have sledding races and snowball fights. These were probably some of the greatest moments of my childhood.

* Lets not forget hot chocolate! The stuff never tasted better after coming in from a long day in the snow. Our bodies were shivering and frozen from the inside out, but hot chocolate had an amazing way of reversing this!