I Still Love Snow

I think this picture was taken of me in the winter of 1947, a particularly harsh winter throughout the northern hemisphere. The blizzard that started on Christmas Eve is still in the record books, in fact. We had moved to central New York State from Connecticut the year before, and one of my Mother's friends had given her this hand-me-down coat, boots, and hat for me. I loved it, especially the hat, which my Mother said was a derby. However, I called it my "dervy." It was brown felt. The coat was a kind of grey/blue wool with a brown collar. The knee boots were cute, and did keep out the snow and wet to a degree, but they weren't particularly warm as I recall. As a child's winter ensemble for playing in the snow, it really wasn't very practical, but I thought I looked really cute in it. This was the first winter I really remember snow and getting out to play in it. There would be many more snowy winters that to remember after that, both as I grew up and later as an adult living in Virginia. I have lots of wonderful memories associated with all of them. I know there are lots of people my age that have moved to Tennessee from the Mid-West particularly to escape the snow, and many more who head to places like Florida and Arizona for the winter months for the same reason. I would never be one of them. I miss snowy winters, and I am still hoping for at least one more decent snow here this winter, especially since I missed this year's East Tennessee white Christmas. I don't like to be cold, but when it is tempered by snow I can still be just as thrilled by it as I was when I was a child.