Wondering about my Wanderings

Favorite Winter Memory

My favorite winter memory when I was at home with Mom and Dad feels filled with all manner of impressions. Dad was the one who was into making snowmen and showing us how to do it. It seemed like he was so strong in those days. He was the best one at making a huge snow man bottom. Mom seemed more content inside watching us play. Dad would take us ice skating. There was a rink on Whiting avenue that we frequented along with a place somewhere around Whitman Center. It was fun to be together, crooked cold ankles and all.

Mom was mostly known for the Christmas dishes she made for Uncle Georges party. She hated, but us kids always looked forward to meeting cousins and eating food and of course seeing Santa. Guess who? I was the die hard Santa addict. I am sure I was at least in fourth grade before I gave up the myth.

Lori will tell you that for mom it was all about the shopping at child world and any other toy store that had clearance. She made an art form out of getting as much stuff as she could and wrapping it up to surprise us. Our main job was to try to figure out what we were getting. Mom's big gift was the mother's ring that dad engineered and she also loved a charm bracelet. Some of my favorite gifts were bikes, car sets and skates. It was all about seeing the kids jump up and down in joy. Christmas was like one giant Birthday time for mom. She could not give us enough. Stockings were stuffed to the gills. And of course if you knew how to wrap presents you were very useful, I just liked opening them. One year I surprised mom by hiding some gifts given at Chrismas to open in the summer. she would say, "I wondered what happened to those two special gifts I gave you.

We liked going sledding together at Strawberry golf course mostly. I remember shoveling snow with dad and when we had the wood stove in the basement taking turns chopping wood. Moms job was to keep hot chocolate handy.

I may have already have alluded to the snowball fights with dad. In one fight I hit him on his bald spot and thought he was going to kill me.
MEMORIES