I’ve railed against the school system closing for snow (actually for the THREAT of snow) in previous posts, I’ve complained about how horrible drivers in Clarksville are when there’s any precipitation, and I’ve blasted out tweet after tweet about the bad weather forecasting. Before I continue doing any of those things (and I will… I will…), I thought I would enlighten those of you who don’t know me that well, to some of the reasons I think the way I do.
My experiences with snow and ice:
For what i’ts worth, this is how I remember it. It may be completely fictional, but it’s what I remember. (Don’t call me and correct on these facts, Mom, it will shatter my world.)
I grew up in East Tennessee. It was great growing up the community I did. I remember, as a child, getting more frequent and deeper snow than we get now, but that’s just probably just nostalgia kicking in. Truth be told, we probably got about the same amount on average. But there was a different mindset when it came to snow back then and back there. Maybe it was just my perspective, as a child, that snow was magical, fun, and something to look forward to. Maybe that’s something I’ve carried with me into adulthood that others might not have. Whatever the reason, I love snow and ice. I love to watch it fall, I love to sled in it, I love to do donuts in my car in it, and I even love to watch is coming on the radar. I don’t dread it. I don’t run out to buy all the bread and milk I can carry when I see it coming. In fact, I’d rather have to go shopping in the snow.
I remember, when I was old enough, I got to be in charge of the fire (We didn’t need one, but I liked to have a fire going when it was snowing. I guess it made me feel more rustic). I would chop the wood and keep the fire going for days (again, for no reason… I just like to play with fire, I guess). It’s crazy how that has carried forward into adulthood. We have a wood stove and I still like (for no reason) to keep it going when its really cold and snowing. Granted, in our house it does heat pretty much the whole house, so it’s nice, but still…
Lesson 1: Work is more fun in the snow!
My first memory with snow, or the one I recall the most, is probably the “blizzard” of ’92. I can’t remember how deep it was, but I remember it came up above my knees and I was 10 years old at the time. Plus, it had came down, not in a gentle snowfall, but in a storm of snowflakes that drifted all over the place, so it could feet deep in one place and inches in another. My Dad worked 45 minutes-1 hour away and was at work when it started, he drove all the way home through mostly covered roads in a 1990 Ford Taurus (not 4 wheel drive) and ended up getting stuck in our driveway because the snow had drifted up higher than the car.
Lesson 2: Just becuase its snowing doesn’t mean you can’t go places, just use your head and know what your doing.
I can remember not long after I got my driver license, my Dad taking me out to show me how to drive in the snow and ice. At this point we did have a GMC Jimmy (4 wheel drive), but the car didn’t matter. I learned that to be confident when driving in bad weather, you have to put yourself out driving IN THE BAD WEATHER! Do it safely, do it a parking lot, if you have to. Just as with anything in life, you have to practice. If you think you might have to drive in bad weather, practice driving in bad weather!! Oh, and later in life, I learned that a front wheel drive car with a big heavy motor is the best thing to drive in the snow and ice. Go figure…
I also remember, when I was older, the families that lived around us reinstated an old tradition that they had as children. When a big snow came, they used to all gather at night up on the hill and build a big bonfire and sled for hours, have hot chocolate, and just have fun. I’m glad I got to experience this for a few years growing up. It was a great time of community and just plain fun. We would use 4-wheelers to pull us to the top (it was a big hill) and sled down and speeds that were probably more dangerous than we knew. But we loved it.
Lesson 3: Snow is for fun. Not to be dreaded.
As an adult and parent, I have to be a little more responsible. Not much… But a little. I still like to do donuts in the parking lot at work when its icy (I can justify it by the way it helps me to learn how to drive under control even when I’m sliding on ice, so I’ll just call it practicing), and I still like go sledding down the steepest hills I can find, but I try to always use my head and my common sense. I’m glad my boys seem to enjoy sledding as much as I do. We may not have any huge hills around our house, but we make do with what we have.
And if it comes down to it, thanks to my Dad, we can alway jump in the car and go find a big hill.
