Wow it is cold outside!

As I sit here staring at the blinking curser and waiting for a topic to pop into my head I can’t help but wonder if I have brain freeze instead of writer’s block.

Winter weather as an adult is so much different than when we were all kids. I remember waiting by the radio in the mornings, hoping for a snow day to be announced. It didn’t happen often but when it did, out came the hats, gloves, coats and galoshes (snow boots). After chores were over then it was time for fun!

One of my favorite things to do in the winter was to go sledding. I remember when I was about 8-10 years old, Daddy took me to the Ginn Grain company and bought me a solid oak toboggan! It sat 4 to 5 kids at a time and when he soaped down the bottom of it we would fly down the hill! Oh what fun! The best part was if we hit a bump causing us to go airborne, although the landing usually meant we were all going to fly off into the snow. But we were kids and at that time didn’t feel the landing as much as we would now as an adult.

Snow ball fights were another highlight of a snow day. First we would try to build the tallest wall to hide behind, then accumulate our ammunition. Eventually we would tire of this, leaving the remnants behind or use the left over snowballs as the bases to building a snowman. Hours would pass by, our noses were numb, our cheeks red but the smiles were still firmly in place on our faces. After all the fun was over, it was time for hot chocolate! A friend of mine’s mother made the best! Why? Because she would melt chocolate chips then add the milk and of course she never forgot the marshmallows!

As an adult when I look at the snow it fills me with dread… I don’t like driving in it, I don’t like cleaning it off my car and I definitely don’t like bundling up in my hat, gloves, scarf, ear muffs, coat and boots and still feeling cold! I guess I have lost my child like love of a snow day. When the rare day off due to snow does happen, I spend it cuddled up in my blanket with a book or I watch a line-up of good movies on one of my steaming services. Although I must confess that the fresh fallen snow can be beautiful to look at, and the quiet of the early morning is awe inspiring.

When it is this cold outside I try to pick activities that are inside and warm. Something that I can still have fun with my friends and be inside and warm.

Can you see my main focus as an adult is on staying inside and warm? If you agree and are over 50, I invite you to stop into the Senior Center and try something new. We give two free visits so you can give it a “test drive” and be inside and warm!

We have two events open to the pubic (50 or better) coming up this month that I hope you will join us for: On Feb. 11 at 7 p.m., Jeff Davis will perform in concert — cost is $5 per person. On Feb. 13 at 6 p.m., the Senior Center will host a Super Bowl Party. Light refreshments, half time trivia and door prizes will be provided.

While I don’t enjoy those outside activities that I did as a kid, I am looking forward to watching my grandchild enjoy them. I have that hot chocolate recipe and will make it for him! He arrives in March so it might be a couple of winters but I can see it in my mind’s eye and I know he will love it!

Stay warm my friends!

Until I see you at the Center, Have a Blessed Day!