Snow and Ice

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, every where you go. La de da de da da de da la la la le la le la…” Yep, that was me singing! Earlier this week we had our first real snowfall. My classroom curtains were closed, but during the passing periods students and teachers alike saw the snow through the windows near the doors. It was beautiful! I did what came naturally – I started to sing. My students from the past can attest to the fact that sometimes I just break into song. I’m quirky that way! Ha. The problem with this song, though, was that I only knew the first few words. After that, I really did have to go to the la’s and da’s and de’s….which completely bewildered my poor sixth graders who had finally seen me for the first time in 11 weeks since my knee surgery. (“Uhhh, maybe the doctors tweaked something in our teacher’s brain, too.”)

I do love snow as long as my car isn’t spinning and I’m not driving behind someone who treats snow as if it will jump up and bite them. The best place to watch the snow is cuddled up in a warm blanket on the sofa! My first winter in sunny southern California was quite a change from frosty Indiana. I remember one afternoon it actually snowed for a couple minutes. I literally cried! I missed snow that much. (I know….I said it before – I’m quirky!) The question is why do I like snow so much? Maybe it's because I had some great times as a kid in the snow. I remember back then. It took us forever to get bundled up for a romp in the snow. Long underwear, tights, tube socks, snow pants, a couple pairs of mittens, coat, hat, scarf, and boots. I must have gained 20 pounds just in that stuff alone! I walked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow man! Heaven forbid if I waited too long to go to the bathroom! It took grand maneuvers just to remove all those items – especially when they were caked in snow.

My favorite snow was the Blizzard of 1978. The snow drifts reached the sky! Ok, maybe not, but they were definitely much taller than me. We didn’t have snow blowers back then – all of the snow had to be shoveled by the entire family to the side of the driveway. That created some huge snow piles. We got creative and made snow caves and tunnels in those piles. I have NO idea how I managed to hang out in the snow caves with my claustrophobia. I do remember I also tried an experiment that year. (You are going to wonder how I got A’s and B’s in school when I tell you this one!) A lot of the sidewalks were mostly cleared off and dry for a few feet away from the driveways. They would abruptly end in huge snow bank that no one wanted to shovel through. I decided to get my bike out, ride as fast as I could, and speed into one of those snow banks without braking! I learned a nice little science lesson that day (and yes, one that I brought up with my students the year I taught science). While the bike stopped suddenly, my body did not! You know when guys get hit down below and they suddenly curl up in a ball? Well, it can happen to girls too! I flew right into the handlebar column and curled up like a boy! Ha!

I think snow also reminds me of romance. I don't know why.  Maybe it has something to do with all of the old Christmas movies I watched as a child (ok, and as an adult). A couple times in my teens, I went walking by myself during almost white-out conditions. (I always knew where I was – it wasn’t a blizzard…yet.) It was so quiet and peaceful surrounded by all of that snow. I’m sure that sounds weird to most people, but it was nice. I wouldn’t mind doing that again sometime.

I like snow, but ice isn’t really my friend! I have had so many tumbles or almost tumbles on ice that it is amazing someone isn’t following me with a video camera everywhere I go just to see if they could win some money on America’s Funniest Videos! The best is when I almost fall – my arms and legs go in every direction as I try my hardest not to land on my back end! Ice is only my friend when I can photograph it. A couple years ago, we had a terrible ice storm that left my family without electricity for several days right around Christmas. My home was terribly cold, and I ended up losing a nice water heater because of a frozen pipe. On the flip side, I did get some very nice photos once the storm had passed.

Ice on lakes makes me panic. I remember as a youth, my father drove our car onto a lake near his boyhood home in Wisconsin. I hated that. Even though there were several other cars on the lake, I just knew OUR CAR was going to be the one to hit a thin spot and break through the ice. I was going to DIE that night! When Dad was ready to get off the ice, I was probably the most relieved in the car. That incident didn’t stop me later from getting onto the frozen lake where I went to college. A bit after dinner, I was walking with my boyfriend around the ice-covered lake. We would periodically throw chunks of frozen snow and ice at the lake and watch them punch through the thin layer of ice. On the far side of the lake, the water level was lower and the ice was thicker. In fact, it was thick enough that we could get on and “skate” around a bit. In one place, I saw that a small reed was poking through a tiny hole in the ice. As I skated by, a little water bounced out of the hole. “That was neat,” I thought. “What if I jump? Will the water shoot out higher?” Crazy crazy me! I jumped, and I didn’t land until I was standing on the bottom of that lake! Next thing I knew, I had a Jenny-sized hole of ice around my waist, my bottom half was in ice-cold water, and I was staring at the shaking knees of my boyfriend as he was laughing out loud! I couldn’t get out of the hole on my own.  Eventually my boyfriend pulled me out of my hole (after he stopped holding his side from laughing so hard...ok, I'm not sure if he did that or not, but I do remember he didn't get me out as fast as I wanted out).  The long walk back to my dorm was painful as my pants started to freeze. Just in case you’re concerned – I also laughed out loud…all the way back to my dorm! I guess it was invigorating to face death even when death really wasn’t one of the options with water that was only waist deep!

We now have our first snow advisory for the season. I have a couple hours of driving tomorrow, so I hope God holds off the snow until I get back home (or provides the many angels around my car that he usually needs to send my way). Once I get back home and am curled up warmly on the sofa, I hope it snows several inches. As for ice – well, I did just get a new camera AND there are no lakes nearby…grin! Sure, bring it on!