I'm giggling tonight, thinking about my childhood and how it all was when we were all together in the present life. I am specifically thinking of our family adventures in winter, adventures mostly having to do with ice-topped lakes, in Minnesota, my motherland.
My dad, well, he liked a little danger. If truth were to be told, my mother liked more danger than he did but she never showed it.
I'll tell you that when us kids were little, for entertainment's sake and because we had no money to do anything that required a fee, our parents would pack us into the big old wood-trimmed station wagon and away we would go...to the lake of course.
Now, if you are a Minnesota or Wisconsin native you know what I'm talking about. We got a lotta lakes up there in that area, every town's got one, and those lakes will freeze over and well, let's just say there are more than a few snow mobiles sunk at the bottom of those lakes. Other stuff too, including people sometimes. I know, plenty of stories there.
Anyway, I am giggling tonight remembering how my dad would drive out onto the ice and gun the engine and let the car swirl madly on the frozen ice. He knew just how far out to go and how long to let those hot tires graze the frozen surface before it got dangerous. I remember thinking, "Wheeeee!" and my stomach would drop in a big happy way. My mother would scream, "Oh Jerome!" over and over again, and of course, at some point she would have to point out that we were all about to die a certain death, a frozen one, and we needed to get out of there quick.
I also remember getting back home, drinking hot chocolate before bed and falling asleep thinking my dad was the biggest guy in the universe, and how fun the twisty curls in the car were, and how beautiful the moonshine and the ice was...I remember all this.
What is your favorite winter family memory?
I was raised in Wichita, KS--flat prairie land. The highest spot in the town was the man-made "W" hill. We eagerly awaited snowfall so we could trek up the hill and slide down. We were fortunate because we had a sled but the "hill" was packed with all kinds of disks, garbage can lids---anything that would slide. When the kiddoes were totally worn out (after hours of trekking and sliding) we'd head home for chili and cornbread. We all slept extremely well after those snow days!
ReplyDeleteThis is not a family memory but it was another thrill of growing up in Wichita. I attended North High, located on the banks of the Arkansas River. When the river would freeze to a safe thickness, we could bring our ice skates to school and have PE class skating on the ice. It was great fun and a memory I'll never forget.
ReplyDeleteLovely memories, Yvonne.
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention the hot chocolate, it reminds me of my childhood. Every morning, I woke up at the smell of hot chocolate my grandma was making. What a sweet smell :-)
Doris