Slipping and sliding on a frozen creek Showing off skating moves with pride Noses running; hands and feet freezing But dreading when we had to go inside Shoes did double duty as ice skates For games, we had learned to improvise Seven brothers and sisters playing happily Being mindful of Mother's watchful eyes We looked forward to the big snowfalls So we could wade the snow up to our knees Making snow angels and having snowball fights We were young and not very hard to please We sneaked icicles that hung from the rooftop Secretly ate them enjoying the subterfuge Always careful not to let Mother see us They were "no-nos" and against her rules We were allowed to make snow cream each winter Adding sugar, vanilla and evaporated milk I still remember the taste from so long ago How it was creamy and went down like pure silk Mother made the best hot cocoa from scratch In the days before the instant kind was invented And rubbed Vicks Vapo-Rub on our little chests I couldn't count all the colds she prevented This time of year sets my old mind to thinking About the winter fun of many years ago Taking our youth and innocence for granted And being excited at the first signs of snow Kathleen McCoy Eldridge© November 20, 2007 All Rights Reserved

 


 
   
 




Winter Wonderland
Sequenced by Don Carroll
The MIDI Studio Consortium