Kats’ Korner: Winter in Nebraska, Good and Bad

I am not a winter person. There are days I wonder why I live in Nebraska since I don’t care for winter.

After thinking about it for a while, I came to the conclusion that I live in Nebraska because I love it here. It is home.

Winter has its’ good side. I love to watch a nice snowfall. The snowflakes glisten as they gently fall from the sky. I don’t play in the snow like I did as a child. I used to enjoy sledding, building snowmen and forts and having snow ball fights!

I remember the winter of 1975. People still refer to it as the bad snowstorm of ’75. When you’re a child, you don’t see it as a bad thing.

I didn’t. We didn’t have school, which was a definite plus. When I looked outside, all my eyes could see was white! It wasn’t just a few inches of snow. It was feet of snow! I was nearing my twelfth birthday. I thought I was an expert on snow, thinking I had never seen anything like this in my life! My short eleven winters didn’t make me an expert, but I thought they did!

All I wanted to do was put on my coat, hat, gloves and boots and run outside! I had a Red Rider Sled. I had gotten it for Christmas when I was about eight years old. I adored that sled! We lived on a hill in Tekamah. There were many kids in the neighborhood. We would all gather at the top of the hill, taking turns sledding down the alley. When we reached the bottom of the alley, we would try to jump the street and go down the next alley to the bottom of the hill.

Sometimes we didn’t make it and landed in the street. That didn’t matter, we would still go down the alley to the bottom, run back up the hill and start over! We would sled for hours! Never noticing the cold, or think about a winter storm being dangerous for those travelling to work in such bad conditions.

We just knew there wasn’t school and we were having fun.

It is wonderful to be a child. Adulthood comes too soon, and lasts all the rest of your life.

Now when the snowstorms happen, I want to hibernate. I worry about those driving on the snow packed, icy roads, especially my family. I wish everyone could just stay home and be safe. I honestly don’t believe any job is worth losing your life. Living to see another day is of upmost importance.

As to every season, there is good and bad that comes along with it. We are having some bad now, but we will get through it. We are Nebraskans, use to enduring, which makes us very strong people.

Up next will be spring, which is beautiful, but also can be quite stormy, as we witnessed last year.

When I think of living where there isn’t winter, I realize they endure the threats of hurricanes.

I am used to Nebraska weather. I would rather stay here.

There is no place like home.