TheBanyanTree: Shnow

[Sharon Mack]

I can't believe it.  We are indeed having Minnesota's weather.  It has
been snowing here for two days.  Thankfully, for now, it is not sticking
as the ground is yet too warm.

I love snow though.  I come from Maryland where snow was the exception
in winter rather than the rule.  We got rain, freezing rain, sleet,
freezing rain and sleet, snow and freezing rain and sometimes snow that
turned to rain and then froze making a nasty slushy, icey, slippery
mess.  The worst part was that Maryland is never ready for winter
weather.  Now, if they were Florida or a truly southern state, I could
understand.  But they're not.  Last year they competed with
Massachusetts on snow inches and snow storms and almost had us beat.  We
went on as usual, Maryland was basically shut down for most of it,
schools, work place and roads.  Snow plows, what few they had, couldn't
get through....can you imagine??

Snow, real snow, holds a special place in my heart.  When we were
young, my German-born mother, who loved the white stuff because it
reminded her of her homeland, would wake us up in the middle of the
night, so we could go walking in it.  She only did this when the snow
was significant enough to warrant a nighttime jaunt.  We loved going out
there all bundled up and doing the traditional snow things;  angels,
snow ball fights, snowmen.  Even my father joined us.  The nights were
so beautiful after the snow stopped.  Big, bright stars shone out of a
midnight blue sky and the moon, no matter at what phase, seemed so much
brighter.

Then we topped off the night with some snugly warm afghans and blankets
on the sofas and chairs with REAL hot chocolate, made with cream and
cocoa, sugar and butter.  Yum!  That's the way hot chocolate should be
made, and you should always drink it snuggled under blankets and
afghans.

We never had to worry about the lateness of the night because,
inevitably, Maryland closed the schools (and sometimes the roads).  We
got to sleep in a little late and then play all the next day in the
snow.

When I grew up and moved away to New England, my mother used to call me
in winter and always ask me, "Sharon, do you have shnow?"  That's how
she said it with her warm and wonderful accent.  Most of the time I
could answer, "Yes, Ma, we have shnow."  She would always sigh......