Snow Covered Story (The Snowstorm of 2010)

I love snow as does my mother and her mother. All of my life I have heard wonderfully exciting stories about snowstorms and the events that happened because of the snow. Up until the snowstorm of 2010 I had only experienced fun in the snow; such as sled riding behind a four wheeler or letting gravity take over to sled down the rolling hills at Beth's or Aunt Mary's, depending on which generation is telling the tale. Never had I experienced the isolated feeling of being really snowed in until the snowstorm in December of 2010.

I remember the snow beginning to fall. The flakes were amazingly huge as they appeared to take the shape of cut out snowflakes I have had to make at school to decorate the classroom. The snow was falling at an alarmingly fast rate and we worried for my dad's safety. He would eventually close the pharmacy and could not make it into work the next day. We were all safe at home listening to the wind. Each time we looked outside, by the glow of the porch light, it seemed the snow was falling an inch a minute. One time Mama opened the door and took a picture of the porch floor. There was a foot of snow on the porch, and it was a covered porch. You can only imagine the drifts out in the open spaces. Since the snow on the satellite dish inhibits reception, we were forced to watch dvd's which I like so much better anyway. Mama had the oil lamps and candles ready in case we lost electricity, which I believed did happen for a time. I think being without electricity is, of course, a hardship, but I love the togetherness that is forced upon us during these blackouts. Even with a large house like ours we gathered in the living room basking in the glow of the flames just talking and listening to nonelectrical sounds like the wind or a far off howl of a coyote or maybe the mother cow who is trying to locate her newborn calf. I love these primitive times. I believe they humble us and teach gratitude.

I finally fell asleep listening to the wind blow and wondering what the morning would bring. Morning arrived, and the sight outside my bedroom window was unbelievable!  When people say there was a blanket of snow, I see an image of a light dusting of snow. Now with that same description used, the land had thousands of huge, white, fluffy, down comforters covering everything in sight. There didn't seem to be any other colors visible to the eye except for white. We couldn't believe the amount of snow in such a short time. Even though we live in the country and never hear road noises, I still felt like we had taken a trip back in time. There were no noises outside. It made me feel like the Ingalls family on the prairie after a blizzard. The white snow everywhere and no one moving. I could imagine everyone sitting at their kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee and relaxing because the reason for the usual morning chaos was not needed. All the schools, businesses, and grocery stores were closed. The only people moving were MODOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) employees. Although in my part of the country we didn't see MODOT for days.

My mom and dad wanted to take a ride, so they got in the four wheel drive truck and slowly made their way down the lane. My sister and I were disappointed to be left behind, but about 30 minutes later they came back to get us. We both put on snowsuits and basically crawled to the truck. The small path we took to Bevier was amazingly curvy and hard to follow with 12-foot drifts along the side of the road. When we drove down Welch Hill the first glimpses of Bevier was an unbelievable sight. So much snow! It was a beautiful sight! There were maybe five people out trying to blade out Ugo's; otherwise the town was abandoned. The snow covered everything the eye could see almost covering the doors to every business building. Our Sacred Heart church appeared to be poking up out of a cloud with only the stained glass windows showing. And the Black Diamond building was sitting erect and majestically in the middle of town enjoying the peacefulness. As we stopped and talked to a couple of people on tractors, all had the same thing to say. No one could remember the last time we had this much snow. Was it the snowstorm of 1973? That is my mom's favorite snow story to tell.

For days we were snowbound and unable to go to school. We spent our days watching tv and playing in the snow. One day Dominica, Jean and some of their friends built a 20-ft. long tunnel. As they were working, my mom made fried bread, and Aunt Brie made soup. I enjoyed going through the tunnel after everyone came in to eat and then back out to take pictures. They were so proud of themselves and of course exhausted!

People say on a regular basis they don't like snow and especially snowstorms. I disagree with them. I not only love the snow and its beautiful effects, but I love the way we are all forced to stop and enjoy. Enjoy not only the day off from our hectic schedules but enjoy each other and enjoy the beauty God has placed before us. So, let it snow!