By Michelle Wyckoff

Snow days.  Aren’t they great?  I can’t say I remember many as a kid, but I’m pretty sure I like them more at my age now than I did then. 

I do, however, remember a few when I was too old for school, but a bit younger than I am now.  My memory may be failing me, and if it is, I’m sure someone will correct me….

It was March of 1977, and a beautiful sunny day.  Shanna was 5 months old and she and I were home by ourselves when visitors stopped by.  It happened to be R J Stavely and his mom, Linda. They had been shopping somewhere (maybe LaJunta) and stopped to visit on their way home.  R J was a year old.  The kids were young and so were Linda and I. 

Time progressed, and while Linda and I were talking fabulous girl talk, the kids were talking fabulous Baby talk, and the wind began to blow.  It wasn’t long before it began to snow.  Really snow.  I hadn’t lived in the country long when I thought the dirt was blowing at a pretty good clip once.  Dennis told me to just wait until I couldn’t see the gas tank from the kitchen window.  I didn’t have to wait long.

On this particular day, it didn’t take long before we couldn’t see the gas tank, but it was from snow, not dirt.  Linda and R J ended up spending the night, and the wind continued to blow and the snow continued to pile up.  I’m positive there was no electricity, which meant there was no heat, except for the gas log in the fireplace. The next morning, Dennis took us all up the road to Wanda and Virgil’s (I live there now, but in my own house). It was easily within walking distance, but not so much in a blizzard.   It seems like we stayed with them for at least two days before someone finally plowed through the snow 

to go to the grocery store for us.  I’m thinking that might have been Lowell and Joyce? Talk about a snow storm!

Finally R J’s dad came to take him and his mom home, and Dennis took Shanna and I home as well.  The slumber parties were over, but the snow lasted awhile longer. 

After Wanda and Virgil moved to their new house, we took the kids out there once and they rode sleds from the top of their Quonset down the side to the ground after a snowstorm. That was thirty years ago.  

Snow like that doesn’t happen anymore.  Those were the days, but now I’m content to just ride out the storm watching movies, drinking hot chocolate and eating popcorn.  These days, that works just as good for me without any snow at all.  

May you be living the good life, Wanda and Virgil!