Touching Snow
by Phoenix, HSM team writer
I remember the soft cold feel of snow against my mittens. The tingle in my toes after being out too long.
I remember the icy delight that washed over me at the sight of every snowfall. The crunchy sound of footfalls upon the inches and inches of white, blanketing the ground.
I remember the taste on my tongue; my head tipped back, eyes closed, mouth wide open as those delicate lacy creations flutter down. The joy of childhood days past, of sleigh rides and ice skating in figure-eights across the frozen pond, of angels made with frantically flailing limbs, while choruses of giggles escaped our gleeful lips.
I remember touching snow.
This winter season has seen much of the US caught in a deep freeze not seen for two decades. Inches upon inches of snow fell in parts of the country, with plunging temperatures trapping many indoors for days. Those that were trapped probably could not have been found at Juggernaut’s Hollyridge Estate or Lockwood’s 
Abbey Hill Cottage Winter Retreat , but I was.
I was there reliving memories.
As a child, I was very fond of winter. I loved all the snow we use to get here. I loved everything about it: the cold, the feel of the icy confection itself. Most of all, I loved to play in a world blanketed in snow.
For years now, that was an impossibility for me. Somehow, I adjusted to the fact that I could not play in the snow. I’d adjusted to the fact that I had not even gone out in the winter very often, and not at all in the snow. I was content to look at it from the world inside my warm house. That all changed this holiday season, with the Home additions of the Hollyridge and Abbey Hill estates. They took me by surprise and back to a time when I was mobile and free to run and play in the snow-covered world of reality. I was so delighted with these two personal spaces that I’ve spent some part of every day in them ice skating, throwing snowballs and sledging since they were released.
When I purchased the Abbey Hill estate, I was reminded of winter days I spent at my grandparent’s home. My grandparents lived out in a rural area and had a quarter-acre of land surrounding their house; as kids, this is where we spent vacations and school breaks. And just a few yards over was a little church with steeple. The feelings of nostalgia at Abbey Hill were so great that I ran around the place smiling and exploring every inch of it just like I did at grandma’s house. I couldn’t wait to go ice 
skating, either — and I did.
I confess to being in this space so often and so long, feeling comfortable, that I’ve fallen asleep there on several occasions; my avatar sitting before the fire after several lengthy turns on the ice, skating. And, much like the flood of memories I had with the Abbey Hill Cottage, I experienced the same with the Hollyridge Estate.
Christmas, you see, is connected with snow for me — and this space is so very customizable that it is Christmas. The snow here is deep and crunches underfoot. The snowfall is intermittent and natural in the way it starts and stops. The way the snow glistens and sparkles in the twilight is delightful. The snowball pile reminds me of how we used to collect them in piles, to stock our ammunition for the coming snowball fight that every kid lived for on a snowy day.
These spaces are magical for me; the realism in them reignited something I’d lost. It has been so long a thing in my life that I didn’t think about how much I missed being able to make snowballs or snow angels. I didn’t think about how snow sounds underfoot, or even what it felt like when you hold it in your hands. The way it smashes together in a compact ball and little bits of it cling to your glove when you throw it was something I’d forgotten.
I hadn’t thought about just how much I missed touching snow.
I thought about that little thing while I played in the Hollyridge snow-covered field. When I next had to go outside here in the real world, last week, I thought about those things. There was snow on a bench at the campus where I
attend classes; I wheeled right over to it and touched snow.
Thank you, Lockwood and Juggernaut alike, for creating snow to play in — not just look at — as often as I want in Home.
January 14th, 2014 by Phoenix | 5 comments
Phoenix writes poetry and is a photography enthusiast, along with writing for HomeStation Magazine. She is currently studying for a BFA in Creative Writing and BA with concentration in Photography. psn ID phoenixstorm21
youtube.com/user/phoenixstorm21
Share
| Tweet |
I really like the Lockwood Abbey Hill winter version. Had a blast making it my permanent Christmas space in Home. I like the Juggernaut one as well and particularly the Christmas lights you can put out with the wreathes.
I don’t love snow so much as I drive in it everyday, but it is fun being able to goof off in it without getting cold. Nice article Phoenix.
Thank You Burbie,
Those Christmas lights were amazing when I began decorating too. :)All in all the past seasons winter spaces were great! And the idea of having fun without the cold is a good one.
Those of us who have lived in “the land of ice and snow” do tend to take it for granted, and tend to -- in our adulthood -- bemoan its arrival instead of explore it, like we did in our youth. I’m no exception.
Then Norse came for a visit over the holidays.
The last time he’s seen snow was when he was a small child, and he’s never experienced falling snow.
Until he came here.
Picture, if you will, this:
A grown man, wearing no coat, with the biggest, silliest grin on his upturned face, looking up at the sky in complete childlike wonder as snowflakes collect in his hair.
And in witnessing that moment, it reminded me of my own fond memories of snow.
Thank you for sharing this story.
Thank You for sharing Terra,
That image of Norse was pretty much like the memories that flooded me as I remembered the magic excitement I felt as a kid whenever it snowed. But I am certain it does not compare completely to the moment of seeing it fall from the sky the first time. I live where we get snow every year and I don’t remember the first time I saw it fall. I’m sure the both of you will never look at a snowfall with out that image and a smile from now on.
Thank You
I’ll be honest. I hate winter. I usualy say these winter place should have a tedious shoveling mini game that randomly pop up and force you to play it for 20 minutes a couple times a week. That will teach you what winter is!
But I must say I loved the winter cutteridge. Almost bought it and it’s still on the “possible purchase” list. Juggernaut did a great job and it’s defenetively more than a simple re-skin.