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No joke, we used to have snow
I don’t know if anyone was more disappointed in our brown Christmas more than my children.
They were all looking forward to donning their many layers of clothes to get out and play in the snow for 30 minutes before coming inside to complain that it was too cold and wet outside, stripping off their hats, gloves, snow pants, coats, sweaters, boots and socks all over the house on their way to the TV.
While they may not believe it, given the practically balmy weather we’ve so far enjoyed this winter, there was a time when we used to get some serious snow in the Quincy Valley.
I’m not talking the few inches of white stuff you need to build a snow man, I’m talking about drifts that were taller than a grown man.
I remember one winter — I believe it was 1985 or 1984 — when we had a tremendous blizzard. It snowed and blowed so much through the night that when we woke up, we couldn’t exit our back door because a four-foot drift had blocked the way.
Now, I’m sure to a grownup, this was a horrible thing. I know my father wasn’t too happy about having to shovel the pickup out of the driveway so he could go feed the cows in the early morning hours. But for us kids, well, it was paradise!
Of course, school had to be canceled. If it wasn’t canceled for safety reasons, it would have been canceled due to lack of interest because there is no way you’re going to get kids to go to school when they get to play with four-foot drifts in their backyards!
There was one spot in our backyard that butted up against a field. It looked as if all the snow from the open field had blown onto this spot, because the drifts were almost six feet tall! Soon I and my six siblings were scurrying all over the drift, digging caves and tunnels, making our own winter ant hill. It was incredible fun, and before we knew it, the sky was starting to get dark and my mother was calling us in for dinner. The eight hours we were outside seemed like 30 minutes.
Alas, the snow caves stayed around for only a few days because soon after, a Chinook wind blew through the valley and took all the white stuff away.
Now, as I watch my children hanging around our home during winter break, warm and comfortable, lounging in their PJs all day, watching TV and playing video games, I can’t help but wish we could get one of those huge blizzards to roll in again, just so they could have the thrill of building snow caves in their own backyard.
