Snowfall can rekindle fond, childhood memories

My sister and I grew up on my grandfather's farm. He had horses. My mother would not let us ride them as she was afraid of horses. We had real winters then, not the lightly sprinkled snow that will have to do for this Christmas.

Grandpa would hitch his horses to a big sleigh and off we'd go down the country road. A memory like that never goes away.

I have another memory, a story told by my great aunt. She and the man she would marry took advantage of the "one horse open sleigh." I don't know if they sang "Jingle Bells" as they rode, but she did tell me (when my mother wasn't listening) that the sleigh almost tipped over on a bumpy road.

My great aunt knew all the verses of "Jingle Bells" and sang them to me. She was an adventurous person and enjoyed the fun in life.

There was a small pond on our farm. My sister and I took advantage when it would freeze and we could walk on it, listening to the cracking of the ice under our "over shoes." In case you're wondering, we never broke through and got our feet wet. As time goes by, we all have seen children wading, splashing and stomping in puddles. It seems to be something they all must do. What fun.

Near the farm house the snow was often about three feet deep. It was perfect for homemade igloos. A little girl could crawl into her igloo and hide when mother called her to "Get in the house before you freeze."

Another aspect of so much snow was when the school district announced mournfully that school was closed because of dangerous roads. After we were done cheering, we jumped into our snowsuits, "overshoes" and grandma's homemade mittens and ran outside for more fun.

My parents never told us about Santa Claus. In fact, it seems that I always knew he was a myth. Something in the back of my mind recalls that I felt sorry for the grown up people who hadn't caught on yet.

Maybe some of them are still wondering. If they are reading this, I hope they are not shocked.

Have a happy Christmas everybody.

Luella Dow is a Cheney-area author. She can be reached at [email protected].