Winter in my house growing up was always really cold. Our house was originally a one bedroom place that my mom owned on her own. After the house was built, someone added an addition onto one end of the house – sort of a nice porch in which to view the sunset – since it faced west and always got the late afternoon sun. Anyway, after my mom met and married my dad, the house had to be home to the five kids and two adults. The “porch” became a makeshift two bedroom area. My sisters shared a room and my two brothers shared the other half of the “porch.” They were seperated by a thin “wall” of fiberboard. After my brothers moved out on their own, I got to stay in the end part of the “porch.” Since this space was designed to be a summer place, neither the walls nor the windows were insulated against cold or heat. In the cold New England winters, the wind would often blow through those rooms unchecked. We stapled plastic sheets across the windows and installed thick curtains, but it was never a great solution.<\/p>\n
I can remember many a night spent huddled under my pile of warm blankets listening to the wind blow outside. Feeling the wind against my cheeks and sometimes being able to see my breath in the cold. We had heat in those rooms, but sometimes, it was not enough to overcome the cold. Lest you think that I am complaining, these are fond memories. I would usually leave one of the windows uncovered and the curtain open so I could see outdoors. I loved the way that the crisp bright moon shone down on the snow, creating a color so sharp and cold – like frozen steel. The sparkles dancing as powdery snow whisked across the frozen surface.<\/p>\n
As a young kid, I used to love playing in the snow, as do all children. I would suit up in my many layers of warm clothes and trudge outside into the weather. Since we lived on a big hill in a pretty deserted area, my sisters and I used to hop on our plastic sleds and slide right down the snow covered road. Traffic was rarely a problem so we were pretty safe. We would start right at the top of the hill in front of our house. If the road was in perfect unplowed condition, we could go all the way down the hill and half way up the next one – about half a mile! What a blast that was. When we were frozen or soaked to the bone we would come back inside and go straight to the bathroom where we would pull of our wet, snow covered clothes and hang them over the bathtub to dry. Then, my mom would make us hot chocolate and I would get my pajamas and get under the covers of my bed to read. When I think back on those days, I can almost feel the warmth and the happy feelings of those cold winter days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Winter in my house growing up was always really cold. Our house was originally a one bedroom place that my mom owned on her own. After the house was built, someone added an addition onto one end of the house … Continue reading