Thursdays

In Those Days, the winters were cold. Sometimes the snow would drift against the house, all but covering the windows and blocking the doors. The snowplows would run the streets, pushing piles into the driveway, or burying the car if it was parked at the curb. Pop always went to work early in the day, which meant I got up with him to clear the car of the snow. Many times, the car never even started anyway and he would have to call a Jeep from the base to come get him. Mom layered so many clothes on me that I could only walk like a Ginger Bread Man on the way to school. But after school, was fun. I stripped away most of the outer clothes so I could sled, skate, or have snowball fights. So much fun. By dinner time, I was so cold that Mom bathed me in cold water to warm me up.

Winters changed for me as time passed. It still seemed as cold as it was, but I think that was because I was older and couldn't take it as well. Things were pale and brown, and the winds always blew. Some people fashioned a likeness of snowmen from tumbleweeds. It was football season and I loved to play. The cold wind never bothered me while playing, but for my fans in the stands, it was another story. I found that out when I became the fan while my children played the games. Watching the soccer games were the worst, although I loved to go.

For me, it's not so cold anymore. Seldom do I wear much more than a sweatshirt now. If it does snow, it melts away very soon. And if the wind blows, it's not all the time. And when it rains, I adapt. There is never a time that I can't sit on the Dock and ponder.