The Snowflakes of My Life

Standing by the window, I listen to the wind and watch as it twirls the snow upwards reliving the moment of the first snowfall of the season. Holding a hot cocoa close to my body I can feel the warmth which sweeps away the chill. I remember days gone by! My childhood, the frost on the windows, the longing for my mother’s arms to hold me and take the chill from my body. There was no cocoa, no heat, just a chill that never went away until my mother’s arms held me close and made me warm again.

The winter nights were cold, and we children would cuddle together in the big bed which on winter nights served as the warmest bed in the house and the only one that could hold four little girls. I remember us cuddling together, I remember a great sense of security when my sisters held me close to make sure I was warm. It made me almost regret summer nights when I slept alone.

The children across the street have now come out to play in the snow. Their laughter reminds me of snowball fights and building snowmen. Now I can feel my father close by. Bit by bit he built a snowman that would bring great joy to me and my sisters. I can hear my own laughter as I watched the snowman grow and come to life in my mind’s eye. With my sisters by my side and mom and dad making miracles in the snow, all was right in the world.

Remembering the winters of the past brings me close to all that I miss and the joy I felt so long ago! Mom and dad are gone now. It’s been some time since they left but they didn’t take it all with them. They were poor but they left memories and examples that were worth so much more than money! Their great examples will remain with me forever and will be what I cherish most in life.

On those cold winter days, mom could always figure out how to cut the potatoes six ways and keep her family fed and warm. I remember the smile on her face when she saw us, one by one, sleepy-eyed, walk into the kitchen each morning and sit at the table where she always served warm toast and coffee, even to us children. There was no juice, no eggs, no bacon, just warm toast and coffee! The best breakfast in the world! Mom never worried about charts and healthy foods. Just food that could keep us well fed and happy.

This was what my mother taught us. Be happy with one another. I have never said an unkind word to my sisters, and they never said one to me. Everything we had we shared. But above all we shared each other’s joys and each other’s love. Of the memorable moments in our lives, the birth of our children was by far the greatest of all joys! Holding each child for the first time was by far one of the most incredible joys in my life. Nothing can compare to a babies’ soft cheek against your cheek. And the first smile that warms the cockles of your heart! An incomprehensible joy that you can feel but never really understand,

My mother taught us that, with love, all things are possible! And all was possible because we always loved one another. Through good times and bad, we always came through it together. When times were bad, we all felt the sadness and when times were good, we all rejoiced.

My fathers’ words about his daughters say it all. “I have four daughters that are worth more to me than a million dollars.” Dad would never achieve great wealth in his lifetime, but he did achieve a great sense of pride for all that his daughters gave him through their love and their children.

Two of my sisters have also gone home to the Lord but I relive the memory of them through the children they left behind. I see their eyes sparkle as their moms did. I see the joy they share with their children. The same joy I saw my sisters share with them.

I watch as their children grow and bring great happiness to their parents. The first steps that we all cheered. The first day of school. The kindergarten graduations and now the grade school and high school graduations. The years fly by just as swiftly as the snowflakes fly by my window. Can I capture a snowflake? No more so than I can capture the swiftness with which each child has grown in the years gone by.

What joy those years have brought. Even in the moments of sadness there was joy in the fact that the Lord would bring us through this trail as He did all the others.

Above all, our parents taught us that faith can move mountains and we have watched as that faith moved the mountains in our lives. They taught us that Sunday mornings belonged to God. We prayed together and then we went to grandma’s house for dinner. Not just us, but the whole family. And today, we still come together for dinner and to share all that has happened over the week past.

So here I am on a Sunday morning listening to the wind and watching the snowflakes twirl upwards reminding me of so many snowy days when mom and dad brought joy and happiness to my life and the lives of my sisters.

Time to get dressed for Church and start my trek through the snow. As I sit and listen to the preacher talk about the past, I remember my past and the Sunday mornings I sat with mom and dad and prayed that we all would be happy and safe.

The yesterdays are gone but the tomorrows of my lifetime are yet to be revealed. Through my eyes my sisters will see their children grow and watch them raise families, families that they sent from Heaven to bring joy to their children.