top of page

My Winter Love Affair

Thomas Smugala

Our winters here in the 573 are perfect — we get just enough snow to call off school for a couple of days but not enough to trap us inside our homes for weeks. It’s the season for family gatherings and the making of lifelong memories for kids. Winter memories from my childhood include snowball fights, building snowmen, sled riding, snow angels, catching snowflakes, ice skating, chomping icicles, frozen toes, and scary car rides on slippery snow in my mother’s car. (She wasn’t the greatest driver, and I never thought fresh donuts were worth the risk) All in all, I’m in love with winter.


A small girl smiling as snow is falling on her nose
It’s the season for family gatherings and the making of lifelong memories for kids.

Beautiful snowy scenery of a road with the trees covered in snow and the ground covered in snow
...building snowmen, sled riding, snow angels, catching snowflakes, ice skating, chomping icicles, frozen toes, and scary car rides on slippery snow in my mother’s car.
First State Community Bank

This story is brought to you by First State Community Bank.

When the snow comes, out come the sledders, sliding down hills on plastic saucers, wooden sleds and even on cardboard boxes. There is no better or less-expensive way to spend a snow day. And what could be better on a freezing cold night than curling up by the fireplace and sipping hot chocolate in your comfy pajamas alongside someone you love?


A beautiful cup of some warm hot chocolate
And what could be better on a freezing cold night than curling up by the fireplace and sipping hot chocolate
A beautiful winter scenery with snow all around
Thick, low-hanging clouds blanket the sky above, pushing on a snow-covered landscape creating the perfect sound booth—nothing.

Every time it snows, I make a point to go outside very late at night and simply take in the deadening silence, my dog sitting in the snow by my side wondering what is going on, tail wagging, making his own silent doggy snow angel. It’s a silence that you can only experience on a snowy night outside a big city. Thick, low-hanging clouds blanket the sky above, pushing on a snow-covered landscape creating the perfect sound booth—nothing. Everything has a gray to blue-shade, and any available lights cast a beautiful orange glow. It’s a beauty that words cannot describe. The stillness is simply amazing. The smell of snow in the air is incredible.


A woman blowing snow out of her cupped palms and onto the camera

I start thinking about how I got here, and as I stand there, I wonder about long-lost friends and what they are doing. I wish my wife were awake so I could hold her in my arms and kiss her rosy cheeks. I start thinking of our winter past together. The times we’d been sled riding. The times we’d been ice skating. The times we got snowed in. That cold weekend in Chicago. The time we spent in the mountains. I think about her cold nose and warm breath on my neck as she tried to hide from the cold wind on that snowy hike years ago. That’s what winter is for me. Winter makes me feel warm inside. It jars some of my best memories. Oh well, I am a simple person.


A group of kids reaching into the snow to make some snow balls
According to The Old Farmers Almanac 2022, it’s time to brace yourself, Missouri.
A beautiful wintry field


According to The Old Farmers Almanac 2022, it’s time to brace yourself, Missouri. We’re in for a doozy of a winter, one that the Farmers’ Almanac admits is perfect for hibernating. While the snow-covered landscape can undoubtedly take our breath away, chances are the bitter temperatures will accomplish that this year. The Farmers’ Almanac winter weather forecast for Missouri warns that it will be a “hibernation zone, snow-filled” winter in 2022-2023.


Get your snow boots ready! And, GET OUT THERE!


-the editor

Be sure to visit all of our awesome sponsors who make these stories possible!
573 Magazine People Places Passions



Hoods Discount Home Center Kitchen-Bath-Flooring-Doors & More

The City of Perryville Missouri Eat Shop Visit

Workspace Coworking space

bottom of page