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Winter Memories

Princess Tang January 4, 2025 11:00

I always remember winter with nostalgia. Those are unforgettable memories in life.

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Winter comes with many memories

I like winter. To explain this requires more time, words and paper. My mother said that maybe because I was born in winter, I can adapt to the cold better than others. It is possible, right?

Winter begins with the cold winds that numb the body after the wonderful autumn days with the cold wind blowing. The following days the cold continues to pour in. It's winter, how can it not be cold?

I remember when I was a child, every winter I would see my father struggling with all kinds of work. First, he re-roofed the house. Back then, although my house was built of bricks and stones, it did not have a tiled roof like today, but had to be covered with straw. After several rainy and sunny seasons, the straw was damaged and rotten, so at the end of winter, my father had to replace it or add more. The straw was selected from the October harvest. The straw was strong and healthy and still had the scent of new rice.

My father also used straw to make a mattress to put under the bed to keep warm. He did this year after year, so he became a professional thatcher. The straw roof looked straight and neat. As for the mattress, it was not only warm but also very soft.

Thinking back to winter, I always feel nostalgic. The days when frost fell heavily, condensing white on the cabbage beds my mother planted. It looked beautiful, but it made the farmers' hearts ache. Frost not only slowed down the growth of vegetables but also severely damaged them. The leaves could not be rolled up, they shriveled up, and the only thing left was to bring them in to feed the geese and ducks in the barn. I regretted the most the tiny flower bed in front of the house. The chrysanthemums, dahlias, roses, gladiolus... that I planted to bloom during Tet were also affected. Every year with many frosts, Tet was considered to have no flowers to see, or if there were any, they would be just a few tiny, sparse ones. It looked very gloomy and boring.

I remember the way to school of us children back then. It was the same distance, but winter seemed to make the distance longer. Our legs were numb and red from the cold. At that time, only a few of us had bicycles to ride, the rest had to walk. Walking in the middle of winter was equally interesting. After a tiring stretch of road, we would stop under a big tree to rest for about 5 minutes, open our mouths to breathe to see whose smoke came out the most. Children's dreams are always vague. I still remember my friend wishing she had a bicycle to get to school faster. As for me, I wished the road was paved with concrete so that my steps would not be bumpy and rocky. We talked while walking, and quickly arrived at our beloved school. And those were probably the most peaceful years of our student life.

I love winter. Every time I remember it, my nose seems to stir with all kinds of smells from the fields of my childhood. The smell of the north wind blowing strongly, carrying with it the scent of wild grass, the scent of mud from the fields that are being irrigated in preparation for the flood season. And perhaps the most memorable is the scent of roasted sweet potatoes and cassava in the middle of the field. Behind the black skin covered with black soot is the soft, white, fragrant flesh. I remember each child's laughter, the way they spoke, and the way we eagerly pounced like a "starved group" when enjoying the delicious dishes from our own homeland.

On winter nights when I grew up and returned to my hometown, I missed those sweet childhood years so much. My mother told me that I often sleepwalked because at night I mumbled meaningless sentences. I smiled at my mother, only I knew best why I sleepwalked. I just missed winter so much!

Princess Tang
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Winter Memories