12/04/2009

Friday - Snow, Memory, Mama

On television and radio
They are talking about snow

The skies look like snow

I don't think I am ready for snow.

But what does that matter - right?

Its coming anyway -

And when it does - the world will be softened and lovely

- for a while.

The first snow of the year always touches the sweet chord of the first time I remember seeing snow.

I was about 4 years old. We were living in a two story house on 9th Street in Charlotte, NC.

One morning, so early I was still wearing my pajamas, Mama called me and my younger sister Lynda to the windows in the kitchen. "look". She pointed to the backyard where the world was lightly touched with white. "Snow"

Mama ran out into the backyard where she scooped the white snow off the bushes into a bowl.
She was laughing when she came back into the kitchen. "Lets have some snow-cream."
She poured milk, sugar and a drop of vanilla into the bowl, stirred it and gave Lynda and me each a class filled with the white liquid.
It was delicious.

"My grandma used to make this for me." she told us.
She was quiet. That's all she said.
I knew it was really special.

The sun came out and the snow dripped off the bushes.

The house is still there.
It and the street look exactly the same - like magic has preserved them as they were in 1941.
I like to park my car on 9th street and wander through my memories.

Wth Mama.

3 comments:

mary said...

Beautiful!! Thanks for letting me wander through your memories with you!

Robert said...

One of my favorite memoriies of Mama also involves snow. I was about 9 and during one of our heavier snows in Chsrlotte, Mama & I walked from Buchanan St up East Worthington Ave to South Blvd and the Cress 5 & 10 store. It was great and I still remember it very vividly. I also remember snow cream after we would sled down the hill behind O'Donoghue.
Thanks for jogging my memory! I hadn't thought of those memories in a long time.

ELLOUISESTORY said...

Hi, Robert.
Love your story. I know that walk and it must have been beautiful in the snow. Glad we share the "snow cream" memory. Jogging the memories - that's what families are supposed to do for each other.