March Memories

Snow! Cold Snaps! Not my favorite weather! I prefer summer sunshine. But in truth, some of my sweetest memories took place in March snowstorms. My late husband, Carl and I were married at a little Army chapel during a snowstorm at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Two years later, we brought home our firstborn in a snowstorm. And a recent announcement on the local news saying kids might get too cold at a bus stop brought another “snow memory.”

Decades ago, I had children riding the bus to school. Thankfully, the bus stop was right in front of our home. On this cold, snowy day, I asked all the kids to stay close to our house or in the garage while waiting for the bus. 

We lived at the bottom of a hill and I didn’t trust the traffic on such slick roads. As it turned out, the bus skidded on the icy downward slope of the street and ran into our mailbox—exactly where the neighborhood kids often gathered. 

No one was hurt, but the bus was stuck until help arrived. No cell phones in those days so the driver called the school from our house then waited at my kitchen counter with a cup of coffee. The kids either traipsed home or had snowball fights in our yard while waiting for another bus. Thankfully, we were the first stop on the route so no students were stranded.

It’s a fond memory since everyone was safe and the kids loved having some outside fun in the snow, as well as a little delay in getting to school. When I look back on that day, I’m thankful the Lord gave me a little nudge to have the kids wait near my house, not at the street where they could have been hurt. 

I’m also thankful for the “nudge” to marry my “soldier sweetheart” 56 years ago, just hours before he deployed overseas. And I’m eternally grateful for the Lord blessing us with Aaron, our St. Patrick’s Day baby boy. So I guess I’m a winter fan after all. At least, I love these March memories.