Ohio Winter

We are in the middle of a snowstorm today. I hope it's our last big hurrah. Somebody noted to me a few weeks ago that our winters don't seem as bad as they did when we were children. I don't think this is true, but I also think we had a couple of really outstanding winters as children in the late 70's that sort of cloud our memories a bit. Most notably, we had the big blizzard of '78. I know that this dominates my memories of winter growing up. We had no electricity for close to a week, hurricane force winds, and when it was all over, snow drifts you could dig tunnels in. This week's ice storm with its big power outage brought back memories of that to me. I'm embarrassed to say that as prepared as I usually am for things, the power outage really took me by surprise. We hardly ever have them, but I still should have more that just flashlights ready. We got rid of our kerosene heaters a few years ago. I can't use them on a regular basis because of my allergies, and on one of my frequent purges of belongings, I sold them. I promised Geno I would buy a new one as soon as I could and keep it and some kerosene in the shed-just in case.
I thought back to the big blizzard of my childhood and realized that it wasn't as disruptive to us because of our lifestyle. We used a woodburner to heat the house anyway. We had a propane stove. Some things haven't changed since then, though. I spent a big part of my time that week reading. I think I read 4 or 5 books-I know Little Women was one. The woodburner in our dining room had a metal cover over it that had doors on either side. I would sit in a chair with one of the doors open and my feet up on the cover, reading as long as the light lasted in a day. On Wednesday, after we did school, Jack and I got under the fifty covers on my bed and each read our own book. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised that Jack didn't complain much about no TV or WII. He was unhappy about the cold, but he kept busy. He read and played.
He was not without his sarcastic comments. We had gone out briefly to a neighbor's; and when we pulled into the garage, he said, "Back to the house of the dead." I should note that by that time, our phone service was also out; and since I usually charge my cell phone at night, I really didn't have that either. The house must have seemed very quiet and dead to him without the almost constant ringing of one or both of the phones.
In spite of our current snowstorm, I am grateful that at least we still have power; and I have a nice warm house with lights and heat. Take care and keep warm.