As we approach year end, the MeetGreen Team is grateful for a prosperous year filled with great memories, wonderful clients and marvelous colleagues. We have traveled around the world, successfully producing conferences and increasing sustainability in client’s events.

Now that we are all safely home for the season, we asked our crew to remember a simpler time and answer a question…”What is your favorite childhood memory of winter?” 

A favorite memory is watching the snow fall out the big picture window in our living room on early school day mornings and wondering if school will be closed.  We lived in a temperate area so snow was not a usual occurrence and when it did come, it didn’t stay very long.  If indeed school was called, the fun of the neighborhood would kick into full gear with kids of every age, dogs, sleds, and hot cocoa.  It was a joyful day.

-Carole Garner

 

Fortunately, there are family pictures of my Dad teaching me to ice skate on a beautiful mountain lake near where I grew up in Ely, Nevada.  I was stylin’ in a turquoise poncho with white trim, arms out, ankles wobbling, but eventually I learned to stay upright.  Although I don’t remember the day, the lesson means so much, as I’ve since skated in some pretty cool places, including the Frog Pond on the Boston Common, Central Park and Rockefeller Center in New York.  Thanks for the skates & sense of adventure, Dad!

-Della Green

 

Listening to the radio on a snowy morning, hoping to hear our school was canceled.  Then immediately snow suit up, go outside and make igloos in the snow drifts.  When I was shivering to the bone, I would come inside for hot chocolate while my snow clothes dried out and warmed up.  Bundled up again, it was outside for another round of frosty fun!

-Nancy Zavada

Growing up, the winter months were synonymous with time spent working on my grandparents Iowan Christmas tree farm. When you’re the #1 (only) place to get a Christmas tree within a 50 mile radius, you get a lot of business, which for me meant cutting, hauling, and wrapping a lot of trees. At the time it seemed normal enough, but looking back I delight in the memories of shooting the BB gun, playing tag in the many rows of Christmas trees, and ice skating on the pond. And nothing tastes better than a huge country meal after a hard day’s work.

-Aaron Elliott

Growing up in Southern California, winter life was not much different than the rest of the year,  until we took off for our annual family ski trip.  We always drove either to Utah or to Mammoth Mountain.  I loved pulling out all the ski clothes and gear to pack.  The road trips were long but broken up with fun and memorable stops.  If we were headed to Utah we stopped in Vegas and played around at Circus Circus.  If we went to Mammoth we stopped in Bishop for breakfast , a run around the town park and stocked up on beef jerky at a local shop ( I understand it is still there and thriving).  The best part was when the mountains came into view and the first sighting of snow on the side of the road.  It got all of us excited for the adventures to come.

-Linda Snyder
Growing up in Texas, we didn’t get much winter to work with, so every brush with such weather was very exciting. Snow was a rarity, but our ice storms could be stunning. I loved waking up on rare “snow days” and exploring the silent neighborhood, creaking under the weight of all the frozen rain. I’ll never forget shattering crystalized leaves and puddles with my brother, laughing while sliding down driveways, and marveling at the icicles while all bundled up in layer after layer of inadequate Texas winter gear.

-Britta Ehnebuske
I grew up in the mid-west, where we had big time winters. One of my strongest memories is laying in bed at night listening to the sound of the snow plows as they drove up and down the streets, clearing snow overnight. It was a very distinct sound I will never forget and is permanently tied to my childhood.

-David Jacobs
When I was little my family would go up into the mountains behind our hometown for a bit of shinny. I was too little to play (never mind stay up on skates), so would cheer in my goofy snowsuit from the cozy fire on the edge of the pond. Making sure the hot chocolate didn’t get lonely, of course.

-Shawna McKinley
One word… skiing.  Before we moved to the East coast we lived in Albuquerque, NM.  At some point when I was around 5 or 6 my parents decided to take up skiing and it became a family ‘sport’.  We started out on the super long skis and our attire was not very  ‘fashionable’ back then.  When we moved to Virginia, the mountains were not quite the same (like skiing down someone’s back yard) but we made trips locally every year.  Years later, once my dad retired from the military and was making more money, our family would go to Colorado or Utah the week after Christmas for a skiing trip.  At the time, being in a small condo with my family for a week wasn’t always thrilling but I have to admit I have great memories of those trips.

-Rebecca Mebane
Playing White Christmas while decorating the tree with the family.  We had a great old train set that was the last thing to be set up and then we all sat there with the lights off, watching in amazement.

-Beverly Garzon
I had two extremely different experiences of winter. One was not far from the equator, 100 miles from the Sahara desert in Niamey, Niger. It did get cooler at that time of year, the temperatures would go down to the mid 80’s. When we’d celebrate Christmas we’d unpack the aluminum tree that we hauled overseas with us and put it together limb by limb. In the French school that I attended, we talk about Pierre Noel who came to good children in his long red robe. It was an interesting undertaking, creating a feeling of Christmas in a land of desert sandstorms, chameleons and palm trees whose people were primarily Muslim and Yoruba.

The other experience was in Norway. Norway was the idyllic land to have Christmas! Every year there was snow. In Oslo (which is actually part of the southern area of Norway) the darkness lends a visceral desire to celebrate light. Red is huge in a Norwegian Christmas! Their typical ornaments are hearts, created from paper or cloth, and straw. Trees are decorated simply and are not bred to be as full as the American tree. Julebukk (or yule goat) is a traditional straw figure placed around the home and comes originally from the traditional goat that was slaughtered in the time between Christmas and New Year known as Romjul.

-Nicole Morris-Judd

I was around 6 years old, living in Bend Oregon. My Aunt had this beautiful wooden deck in her backyard that faced a forest of trees. All of us cousins would build a few snowmen, drink hot chocolate, and watch deer come into the backyard to check them out. I remember the mountain air and smell of wet wood and pine trees. The fragrance is unparalleled and makes me smile every time I think about it. One of the many reasons I wanted to move back to Oregon. That fragrance that accompanies fresh snow makes me so happy that I did.

-Melanie Grant