Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Importance of Memory - Snow and Sledding and Such




I was emailing back and forth with someone I love very much this week. She is in late adulthood and told me something that brought tears to my eyes. She was telling me about the weather up north and then added, “I used to love playing in the .” I could feel her , her joy at the memory. And it made me wonder, what were my favorite memories of snow? I do live in Florida, by choice, right? But within seconds, memories were flooding. I remember my first winter in Chicago. I had been living in Florida for so long, snow was again magic for me. One night, we walked out from the high rise to go see a movie. The snow was blanketing the block. You know that block, full of shops, lit up in the darkness, with the old fashioned movie theatre in the middle. The snow fell on us in giant, floating flakes. I was madly in love. It was one of the best moments of my life.


Of course, then there was this kid in my neighborhood when I was little. I grew up about an hour and a half north of NYC. In the mid-Hudson valley. What does that mean? Mountains, hills, craggy rocks, and streams. Everywhere. As kids, we were always searching for a new hill we could hit in our neighborhood for sleigh riding. For some reason, we called it sleigh riding, not . So, we found this hill, nestled between a few people’s properties. Kind of like what you would call a greenway now. It was steep and of course, you could opt to go over this rock that jutted out of the hill (covered in snow and topped with a layer of ice), which would give you some air on the way down. At the bottom was, yes, a frozen stream. This means at the end of your ride you get a boost of momentum. Fantastic. However, there was also a chain link fence backing up to someone’s land. So, as you can guess, the goal was to get the best ride possible while stopping short of the fence. We would stand at the top of the hill watching each other go down. Here’s the thing. From the top, that chain link fence was just out of sight.

So, here comes this kid. And he’s a daredevil. You know the type. Takes a running start onto the sled every time. And yes, sometimes he would miss the sled and go down half on, legs flailing, or roll down the hill without it. Hysterical. So, you know when he actually got it right and went down ON the sled, we were all thinking about that chain link fence. He flies down, we see him hit the ice and hear that smooth sound as he glides out of sight. And then, a giant smack and rattle as he hits the fence. We all hold our breath in the silent aftermath. And then we hear it. His deep throated laughter. We laughed till we fell down in the snow. He did it over and over that day, even inspired some of us to “go for the fence.” There’s no moral here, no tale of class clowns or taking chances (the fence really didn’t feel good when you hit it, by the way… although it did make you laugh).

But I can tell you this; I am feeling pretty good as I write. Pretty happy. It’s amazing what a memory can do, it lights up our , our emotion center in the brain, and we can not only remember, but we feel the moment all over again. So, here is what I am thinking. Do you have a snow story? A happy memory? Something you would like to share? Post it in the comments section and share with all of us… for those of us who are entering the “dog days” of winter, when it starts to feel more miserable than magic, and also for all of us who live far from the snow and miss the crunch of it under our feet and the taste of it on our tongues.

7 comments:

  1. Ha, ha! We had a kid like that in our neighborhood. He used to jump off of people's garages, swing sets, anything he could. He was a mad man! And he convinced some of us to do it after a big snow storm, right into these giant snow drifts. It was great. Stupid, but great.
    Jeff

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  2. When we were kids the first snowfall meant one thing. Snow angels! And we made them over and over till there wasn't one peice of "clean" snow left. It was great. Thanks for the memories! Carrie

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  3. Jeff and Carrie-

    Thanks for the great stories! You made me nostalgic while I was laughing.

    Maria

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  4. शहद के ऐसे टिप्स जो हैं बड़े काम के
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_80.html

    घर में बिना तोड़ फोड़ कैसे मिटाएं वास्तु दोष
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_79.html

    गार्डन की हरियाली से वास्तु दोष निवारण
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_7.html

    वास्तु:- घर में नहीं रखें न रखें बंद घड़ी क्यों?
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_77.html

    रसोईघर के लिए वास्तु Vastu Tips for Kitchen
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_64.html

    वास्तु:- घर की छत पर कबाड़ न रखें क्यों?
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_60.html

    इस दिशा में रखा मनी प्लांट फायदे की जगह नुकसान करवा सकता है
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_42.html

    क्या आपका बेडरूम वास्तु के अनुरूप है Vastu Tips for Bedroom
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_10.html

    ऑफिस में तरक्की के लिए वास्तु टिप्स
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_19.html

    इन साधारण उपायों से दूर कीजिये घर का वास्तु दोष

    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/c.html


    साधारण से वास्तु उपाय, सफलता दिलाए
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_5.html


    नया घर बनवाते या खरीदते समय रखें ये सावधानियां
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_22.html


    घर के इस हिस्से को बनवाते समय आजमाएं वास्तु के ये उपाय
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_98.html


    व्यवसाय में रुकावट कहीं इन वजह से तो नहीं
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_85.html


    योग से संबंधी सच और भ्रम
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_94.html

    योग से पाएं रोगों पर नियंत्रण
    Benefits of yoga
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/blog-post_47.html

    पेट दर्द के पीछे कई कारण हो सकते हैं
    http://preciouslifetips.blogspot.in/2016/02/causes-of-stomach-pain-3-15-20-2-2-2-3.html

    ReplyDelete