WINTER

I grew up in the Northern United States, Maine and then Alaska to be exact.  My winter’s were truly winter wonderlands.  I remember late night snow ball fights and fortresses fit for royalty.  Cross country skiing or ice skating, hot cocoa, and bonfires were a must.  Sledding down country side hills so long it took hours to climb back up to the top.  Then of course their was the ice fishing.  All those tiny little boxes scattered across the frozen lake with an array of little flags that would snap up if you had a fish.  And on occasion the Winter evening would host the Northern Lights.  The sky would come alive with a spectacular neon light show, swirling and dancing, illuminating the white crust below.

My parents probably remember winter a little differently.  The constant hall of wood to feed the stove.  The relentless plowing and shoveling to go any where and to keep the roof from falling in and rendering the cabin to kindle.  Getting studs on the tires, and making sure the trunk had sandbags, chains, and a shovel.  And lastly, trying to combat cabin fever after being snowed in with little daylight.  I like to think of life’s experiences as character builders, and we all did a bunch of building in the last frontier.

I know winter is not all snow and ice for all of our monkeys.  I’d love to see what represents your winter season, that time between December 21st and March 19th.  Let us all celebrate winter in all it’s glory!