With a rare December snow storm around the corner, I’m having some winter flashbacks. Here are a few of my all-time favorite winter weather memories:
7) While in seminary in Chicago, we had a week of 50-below windchill and we drove an old beater that needed to be started every three hours or the battery would die! I would brave the sub-zero temperatures at midnight, 3 AM, and 6 AM so Lora had a car to drive to work. Painful setting your alarm at 3 AM when it’s 50-below windchill.
6) Winter of ’79 in Wisconsin. I barely remember it. But we had snow drifts twice as tall as me. We made igloos you could stand in. Of course, I was very short then!
5) Few things are as magical as skiing when it’s snowing. I remember skiing Alpine Valley as a kid when it was snowing. And most recently, snowboarding at Massanutten in the snow! Love riding up the ski lift when the snow is coming down!
4) I grew up going to church every Sunday, but I remember one particular weekend when services were canceled because of a snow storm. We stayed home and watched old episodes of Superman and The Lone Ranger on TV. I thought it was the coolest thing ever!
3) Going over to the Whitehouse during a heavy snow a few years ago. It’s even whiter when it snows! The monuments are even more beautiful when blanketed by snow!
2) Whenever school was canceled because because of snow, my friends and I would find a place to do donuts and fishtails. The most memorable, however, was trying to drive through a snowdrift that was about 12 feet high. I learned a few things. First of all, it’s not possible to drive through it. You’ll end up on top of it! But as long as no one is injured, the snow explosion is worth any damage done to your vehicle!
1) The blizzard of ’96. This is hands-down the most memorable storm because it coincided with my first service as pastor of NCC. Lora, Parker and myself were the only ones who made it to church for that first service! The upside is that we experienced a 533% growth spurt in one week when 19 people showed up the next Sunday!
