Column: The Snowman

Earlier this month I was able to make a quick trip to my hometown.

I closed the office on a Friday and headed out of town around 8 a.m. While an 800 mile round trip is certainly not fun, it’s important from time to time to take a quick break and get the chance to see family and friends.

Because my new kitten really couldn’t be left alone for three days we took her along, and to be fair also brought along Peaches. Little Jerusha found riding in a car a very enjoyable experience. She was happy as can be and also took the time to pester Peaches just about the entire way there and back. Poor Peaches cannot escape the constant barrage of unwanted attention from his sister. He hates riding in the car and she didn’t make it any better.

I have not been able to see my little sister and her boyfriend since I purchased the paper so that weekend was the first time we’ve been able to hang out in a couple of years. Back in the day they used to think it was funny to torment me with a snowman decoration that belongs to my mom. I would be sleeping and they would set it outside my room and turn on the lights. I would wake up to this creepy snowman lighting up the room. It was awful. That thing would end up in my car and in various places in my bedroom.

When I arrived at my mom’s house, everyone had gone to eat a late lunch. I was a little bit disappointed I had missed out on the meal, but it was okay because this gave me a chance to find the snowman. After a few minutes I located it in the garage and I was going to pay them back for the years of torment. As I was carrying it out of the garage Melissa and Mya came into the house and saw me with the probably three feet tall and 20-pound decoration. They were so confused that I was carrying a random snowman in a house in August.

I figured out what room my sister was staying in and placed the snowman under the covers. A few hours later they made there way into the room and got a pleasant surprise. I wish I could have seen the look on their faces. Just when I thought I had given them pay back, I walked into the room I was staying in and that creepy snowman was there waiting for me.

Along with the chance to see family, another reason for the trip was to catch up with friends at the county fair. I lived in my hometown for so many years the fair often serves as the best opportunity to see as many people as possible in a central location.

I was hoping to run into 10 to 15 people I knew and catch up. After about 20 minutes at the fair I had already seen close to 20 and this continued all night. I couldn’t walk 20 feet without running into to somebody I knew and give a handshake or strange type of “bro” hug. It was enjoyable, but a little bit overwhelming. I had no idea I knew that many people well enough for the weird hugs.

The following day I spent most of the day at home visiting with my family. I had quite enough of socializing and it was nice to just sit and relax.

I did however go to a yard sale at my mom’s next-door neighbors. While I was looking through items I found this really creepy old doll. It looked to be from the 1960’s and the thing frightened me. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to purchase it and let Jerusha play with it. She loved the creepy little doll so it seemed like a great purchase. That was until my sister and her boyfriend saw it. It was the snowman all over again. The doll got left behind when we left in a hurry Sunday morning, but the first time I checked my phone on the way home they had already sent pictures of the creepy doll. This continued all day. I think we may have a new tradition to add to the snowman, so I’m looking forward to the next time I get to my hometown and find the snowman and baby waiting for me.