Freewrite #113 with @mariannewest: Ski

Ski. Skeeter. Water skeeters in the creek out behind our back yard when I was growing up. We had a fence running along the back of our property, which was not small, but not large either. I remember a pond somewhere over there too, and the skeeters loved it there. The thing I remember most, being 6 at the time, was how fascinating it was that they could just ski across the water on their own feet. Their leg span was so wide, and feet so tiny, and body so light, the surface tension from their little feet made small indents on the water as though it was not actually liquid at all, but some kind of thick material--not completely solid, but certainly not water. As though they must have been running across a large silk sheet, and they could slide right over the top of it making tiny ripples, but not actually tearing through it.

This is what I remember thinking when I was a kid. And the thought has never left.

I had another thought at that time as well. I wondered why Groundhog’s Day was the way it was. If he saw his shadow, then that meant 6 more weeks of winter. What did seeing a shadow have anything to do with whether or not winter would be longer or shorter? This did not make sense to me. In my little mind, if a groundhog came out of his hole and saw his shadow, then that meant there must be a sun shining up above. And sun brought warmth and Spring. The teacher sat down with me and tried to explain it, but I simply could not wrap my head around the fact that a shadow brought with it more winter, as opposed to spring.

I was reduced to tears. And the teacher gave up. We agreed to disagree. To this day, it’s a bit of a hiccup still when groundhog’s day comes along. Wait, he saw his shadow….so that means…..right. More Winter. Because it scared him back in his hole. Got it.