First Snow
 

First snow
Makes me melancholy
Memories of good times no more
Drift in like shifting snow
Cold, crisp air that set my lungs on fire
Cross country skiing with my daughter
On diamond snow
She lived for the downhills
I preferred to trudge uphill
Rolling soggy snow with husband and daughters to build a teetering snowman
The tallest on the block
Sledding down the driveway with two young daughters
One, a kamikaze daredevil
The other, cautious,
Like me
Our golden retriever adding to the merry chaos
Pulling off hats and boots
Sneaking cafeteria trays out under bulky parkas
To slide down College Hill
The trays navigating by the avocado moon
Plowing through knee deep snow with older cousins
To witness the inauguration of JFK
Fingers one degree away from frostbite
Making snow angels with my sister
Long hair poking out of knit hats in ice ringlets
Catching snowflake jewels on our sleeves
Fitting adornments for snow angels
Coming in to sweet, sensuous smell of hot chocolate
Spiked with cinnamon

From my wheelchair I watch the neighbor’s children play

Published in Baby Boomers Birthright