Boy, we sure have been getting a lot of snow lately! As a winter girl, I love it. We have not had this much snow in a long time!

I remember a year or two ago, on December 23, I was outside in a tank top hanging up clothes on my clothesline! I was so dang gone mad! It didn’t feel like Christmas at all.

Then this year — BAM — snow galore! It makes me feel like a kid again.

We really had some awesome snow days when I was a kid. The blizzard of 1996 was unforgettable. My dad built my brother and me a big igloo. We loved that thing. For an 11-year-old little girl and a seven-year-old boy, it was the coolest thing. We felt like little Eskimos in our snow fort. My dad could even fit in it, that’s how big this thing was!

After school, my brother and I could go out and play till supper. We got all bundled up, and out we went for an hour or two to play in the snow. Mom would come out on the deck and yell, “Hey kids, time to come in for dinner. Please take your snow clothes off in the basement.” We tracked around the house and into our back door. Over to the dryer, we went, taking off all our wet clothes.

On winter days, my momma loved making BLTs and potato soup. Nothing screams my winter childhood days like smelling that potato soup. As soon as I got a whiff of it, I knew what we were having for dinner. Mom’s potato soup!! The smell of celery, onion, and potato just filled our little ranch home on Roosevelt Ave. I couldn’t get my snow clothes off fast enough. There was nothing like playing in the snow and coming into a hot bowl of my momma’s amazing soup and a crunchy BLT. Except I only did the BL. Still do. I am just not a T person. It drives my stepdad crazy that I don’t like tomatoes. I wish I acquired a taste for them. I really do.

Another time I remember is when we just moved to Roosevelt Ave. My mom was a nurse and worked third shift to be home with my brother and me. It was my bedtime, and it was snowing out. I wanted to go out and play so bad. I was four years old, and snow at a new house was some exciting stuff. Mom said it was time for bed, and she was getting ready to go into work. I got tucked in and was so bummed I was missing all that fun snow. After my mom left for work, my dad came in to get me. I’ll never forget it. He got my snow clothes on, took me outside, and pulled me in my sled around the house after Mom left. It was our little secret. Sometimes my dad was full of surprises; I love that about him.

As I grew older, we moved out to the country off Grimesville Road into an old farmhouse. Once I got my license, snow days changed. Snow days were now taking my Subaru down to the Antlers Club with my boyfriend (now husband) doing donuts in the parking lot. My brother wasn’t happy that sis was not into sled riding anymore. In fact, my brother still teases my husband that he ruined our snow days together. Ba-haha! Classic.

But still, at sixteen years old, I never woke up to snow on my car. On those mornings, my dad cleaned my car off and got it nice and warm for me. He spoiled me, but in a good way. I learned work ethic and responsibility very quickly, and it still sticks with me today.

I bought my very first car, but my dad co-signed. I bought my very first phone and paid for it monthly, but my parents showed me at an early age the importance of earning your own way and taking care of it because I paid for it. I had to pay for my own car insurance and maintenance of that vehicle — that I did! Dad would often wash my car for me and get my oil changed, and things like that. In fact, that first car I bought all those years ago is now in my dad and stepmom’s cozy warm basement as she goes into storage for the winter. See, Dad still spoils his little girl. I am kind of hoping he will wash and wax her up for me and surprise me some Saturday when he brings her home this spring. He just has this passion and skill for shining up his rides! (No lie.) Ol’ Blue has a special place in my heart and has been with me 20 years this May. I think Dad has a soft spot for Ol’ Blue, too, don’t ya, Dad? *Big smile*

I am just so thankful for my parents, who taught Luke and me responsibility at an early age. Not only do I have awesome memories of these snow days, but I have memories of how I got to where I am today. I know I am so incredibly blessed to have the parents that I do. They are the reason why I am who I am today.

Now, wait till you smell my childhood winters with this amazing and simple soup! The best part of all this is I just remembered that tonight my momma is making this soup with cheese cosmos for our Thursday night family dinner. My day just got a whole lot better! I hope you and your family enjoy it too.

Momma’s Potato Soup

Ingredients:
• 4 to 5 large potatoes
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 stick butter
• Milk

Directions:

Peel and boil potatoes; add onion and celery while boiling. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add milk until you get the consistency you want. Add butter, salt and pepper and let simmer till thick. You be the judge of the seasoning.