WINTER HAS ITS UPS AND DOWNS

It seems there's always plenty to loathe about winter: the cold, the snow, sometimes ice, the miserable, gloomy gray days that seem endless. But, as a retiree, there's also a lot to love...sleeping in, a good book, reminiscing and (if so inclined) staying in one's P.J.s ALL day.

The first snowfall of the new year (2015) is spectacular to look at from inside my cozy home. While I sip a cup of hot chocolate with the warm steam curling around my face, it's a perfect spot to turn back time.

There is ice underneath today's light covering of snow, but on a fateful day back in 1954 there was only ice.

That morning, I was running late to make the 1/8 mile trek to the blacktop to catch the school bus. Just as I stepped off the back porch of our farm house onto the first of four concrete steps, I saw the bus across a pasture on Highway 65. At that same moment, my feet flew out from under me. I went airborne along with my notebook and books I'd been clutching. I landed on my tailbone on a metal boot scraper at the bottom step. Did I cry? You bet I did!

Eventually, I picked myself up, gathered my scattered belongings, welcomed empathy from mom, while vowing to heed dad's warnings, "Be careful of that first step when you go out on winter mornings!"

After all these years, dad's wisdom still resonates just as clear as it did in my youth. If I never have another mishap, I've had some experiences I'll never forget.