While we were wishing and hoping that Spring was on its way, the snow that blew in from the North this week painted a different picture…as it has in years past.
It was 2018 and some of us in Northern Kentucky felt like the bear on our Terrace Drive front stoop must have. We just wanted to cover our eyes, imagining ourselves in warmer climates.
Others like this fellow my friend Debby found in her Tennessee yard decided to celebrate with positive vibes in anticipation of Spring’s arrival.
Our family has our own way to celebrate a big snowfall. When I saw the flowers in our front yard perennial beds blanketed in big poofs of white, it reminded me of all the times we made Snow Pops.
Well, the tradition actually started out as snow ice cream. Maybe your family has scooped up a big tub of freshly fallen snow, adding some milk and sugar and a hint of vanilla. Remember how that huge amount of snow dwindled down once the milk hit? As the youngest of three, I thought it was a bit magical the first time it seemed to almost disappear before my very eyes.
We usually filled up cereal bowls with the delicious treat, slurped it down (can you say “brain freeze?!”) and ran out for more. It was almost like we feared there wouldn’t be any “good white stuff” left if we stayed inside warming up by the fire too long.
One year my older brother David had an idea. Quickly finishing off his third bowl of snow cream (usually his limit), he headed out for one more. After following the basic recipe once again, this time he threw in a twist. Instead of using bowls, he filled small Dixie cups, usually reserved for summertime lemonade stand endeavors.
He came from his room with some birchwood sticks still packaged for model airplane building. He plopped one in each cup and tossed in a few chocolate chips that he had been hiding away who knows where.
Into the freezer his concoction went for about an hour. That was as long as we could wait before trying out the Barker Family’s first batch of snow pops. Most of the paper tore off from around the frozen treats. (It was 1950-something and that was before the cups were made of plastic.) And the chocolate chips were hard as a rock. It didn’t matter a bit to us. We considered his experiment to be a success!
While I continued the snow cream tradition with my daughter Sara, and she has continued it with her children, I’ve never mentioned snow pops to anyone else before. Honestly, I had forgotten all about them and what fun we had trying out different flavor additives like berries and banana and my sister Betty’s favorite, peanut butter.
I wasn’t sure at first why I felt nudged to snap a photo of snow on the flower stalks. Now I know it was so I could meander down Memory Lane and uncover some fun almost-lost family moments to jot about and pass on.
Another story added to the family story collage as we continue building my family’s Legacy of Memories!
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What are some of your childhood family’s favorite snow day memories? Have you shared the stories that go along with them yet with your children and grandchildren?
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JOYfully jotting,
Katie
Family PhotoStory Curator
Mini-Stories Writing Coach
Your Legacy of Memories Mentor
Capturing Mini-Moments That Matter…
Energizing & Connecting Families for Generations!