I've scrapped the diary I had written in honor of the white stuff. It has been snowing since 2:30 here and we're expected to get anywhere between 12 and 18 inches. I expect that we'll get much more than predicted because we'll have the coastal effect where the ocean contributes more moisture and increases the snowfall.
I have such fond memories of my snowy New Hampshire childhood. We had a small hill in our backyard that was perfect for sledding when we were very young. Then we graduated to the neighbor's longer, steeper hill. Every day after school the 5 of us would bundle up, grab the sleds and saucers, and go sledding for hours. The dog would chase us, making a game of trying to steal our hats and mittens as we hurtled down the hill. When it started to get dark the neighbor would turn on her barn lights so that we could see our way up the hill.
On Sundays we went sledding at my grandparents' farm, getting into shoving matches with cousins and trying to dodge the pond as we flew down their steep hill. If there was a coating of ice on the snow we'd have to maneuver our sleds at the bottom of the hill to avoid the stone wall. Almost 50 cousins and none of us ever landed in the pond or hit the stone wall.
Got a Happy Story is a community gathering every Friday night where we share stories large and small that have put a smile on our face. It is a time to acknowledge the joy and wonder we experience. The Happy Story diary exists as a way to anchor the community in hope and comfort while we do the hard work of taking back our country. Everyone and all sorts of stories and pictures are welcome. May we find joy and strength here.
When we older and had access to cars we'd head over to the old Twin Tows, a former ski slope. It was named for the two rope tows going up an extremely steep hill. But the fact that the hill only had 10-15 feet between the bottom and the road made it a short lived ski place. It was phenomenal for sledding though, just as long as you either maneuvered the sled well or jumped off. I had a small concussion from sledding down Twin Tows when it was solid ice. My steering was impaired, I tipped over, and slid on my head. I did avoid the road and loss of consciousness so I was good to go for some more trips down the hill.
We have no hills where we live now. And the hill that the townspeople use is smaller than the one in my childhood backyard so sledding is a rare treat for soberboy. I love seeing him with his cousins sledding down the neighbors' hill behind my folks. The old lady's house and barn have been turned into condos, but the hill is still open for business. It is soberboy's favorite thing to do this time of year.
We've got white out conditions outside the door but we're warm inside. We've done a little shoveling just to stay ahead of things. And soberboy has eaten some snow. He just loves consuming fresh snow. Tomorrow we'll make snow people and shovel out the cars.
I'm interested to hear the happy stories from your week. It has been a difficult couple of days around here and I think we could all use some cheering up. So what happy stories do you have to share this week?