I Hate Snow

I’m sitting in my home with the heat cranked up so high my skin is dry and my hair is full of static.  We’re going to have record low temps tomorrow for the southwest Chicago suburbs.  I was born in the wrong state.

I’m cold all of the time.  My friends make fun of me and my family knows better.  In winter I either wear a robe or a blanket wrapped around me at home.  If I get tired of that “look” I’ll slip on a pair of long underwear under loose pull-on pants and wear a thick sweatshirt.  I’m sure my husband always thinks I’ve put on a few pounds because of all the clothes I wear.

As a child it didn’t bother me as much

Although I’m not very athletic I did enjoy sledding as a kid.  I lived in Blue Island, IL, until I was ten.  Blue Island had some great hilly steets and a park called Memorial Park that had great sledding hills for kids.  My Dad would take us to the park and patiently wait until we were too tired to sled anymore.  I really can’t remember, but maybe it didn’t take too long with the quick ride down and the labored walk back up.

The local teenage boys built the best slopes for our little round plastic saucers, starting at the top of the hill and going down the neighbor’s yards with tunnels and zigzags.  They would ice them up every day so we’d all get a good ride.  We were sad when those melted.

That was then, this is now

I don’t quite remember when I started hating the snow and cold but once I became a teenager I could do without it.  I certainly don’t have any fond memories of the great Chicago snowstorm of 1968 (or ’67 – I’ll have to look it up) where we had to walk home from school because no buses or cars could drive through the streets.  I’ll never forget people pulling sleds to the grocery store and lamenting the dwindling supply of food as delivery trucks couldn’t get in.

The older I get, the worse it is.  In fact, I believe I’ve suffered from a degree of SADD, although it hasn’t affected me as badly the past couple of years.  I was going to purchase one of those special lights for SADD sufferers but never got around to it.

I know there is snow to be found in Arizona, but I’ve read that for the rare snowfall in Scottsdale, it is usually light and melts quickly.  It’s not even an annual event.  If I never see snow again it won’t be too soon.

So if I hate it here so much, why haven’t I moved?

Granddaughter Elle & the late Gypsy from a few years ago