Ground Hog Day has passed,
Valentines have had their sweet date, the presidents have blown out their
birthday candles and Leap Day is here. Winter lingers in the last snow of
February, and soft flakes fall through the air and pile up against my door.
Visions of childhood winters
capture my thoughts as I remember being in the classroom, feeling imprisoned,
on a snowy winter day. My attention was somewhere outdoors, already into the
white fun. Finally, the bell would
ring and the class would rush excitedly to the door.
Once outside, what child
could resist gathering up a snowball? At least one snowball fight before going
home would be in order. With rosy cheeks, and frosty noses, our laughter became
muffled in the winter air. And unlike most adults, our clocks often stopped while
having fun. We accepted the gift of winter so gracefully, as most children do.
So, I guess it had to snow,
at least one more time this season, although most of us were looking forward to
the spring. There are many reasons for it to snow but one good reason is for
the gift it brings to children. With red jolly faces, we caught snowflakes on
our tongues, raced our sleds down “Suicide Hill” and waited for the first
snowball to be thrown.
And sometimes, the child within me still remembers to reach
down and create a snowball. This one’s for you!
