Why yes, I am a Southerner, thank you . . .

It's a funny thing, being married to a guy from the Midwest (which is what my grandmother told everyone at my wedding . . . no, I didn't just marry a Yankee, I married a midwesterner). He still occasionally calls our couch a davenport and a gutter an eavestrough (?what?), but I sure love it when we have a bit of snow on the ground and he will do the driving. I grew up in a place where people clean out the bread and milk any time the weather forecast even mentions the 'S' word, and black ice is one of the most feared (and pretty much phantom) road conditions. So, it is really comforting to know I don't have to drive in the stuff. It makes me a nervous wreck. Not that I don't enjoy the snow -- we lived on a street with a steep hill growing up, and at least every other year would get a good snowstorm with a layer of ice underneath. Then we all loved the neighbor with a real sled (my husband says they're called toboggans). The more kids we got on that thing, the faster it would go, and that was all kinds of awesome. Along with the bread sacks on our feet to keep them dry (because who would spend money on real snowboots in Atlanta, people?)

However, I'm still all Southerner. We had three days in December where I could open the windows (horrible allergies + endless pollen season = that never happens), and there has already been a January day where lots of people around here were wearing shorts. Just seeing real snow never ceases to amaze me - the first time we went to visit my Hawkeye's family in the winter, I was stunned to see an entire river frozen. And his stories about growing up sound like something Norman Rockwell would have painted (building a bonfire next to the river and ice skating, anyone?)


My two boys, however, have never been able to ride a sled. And the oldest is almost 10! So, I'm (quietly) asking for a good snowfall or two this winter. My friends who grew up in this part of Tennessee say it's a possibility. So, cross your fingers for me!