The return of the snowbirds
My Aunt Sharon and Uncle Steven should return to Indiana soon. They are the family snowbirds. Just like our feathered friends, with the first signs of spring, they return.
“Snowbirds,” just like many actual birds, leave Indiana for the winter but come back home in the spring.
Aunt Sharon and Uncle Steven have spent the winter in Lake Havasu, Arizona. They have made friends in Arizona yet they always return to Indiana in the spring.
My husband never fails to mention them when he is out shoveling snow or scraping the ice off of the car windows. Uncle Steven also manages to call late at night when it is bitter cold here, just to mention that he has his windows open and is enjoying the evening air.
Some people call them lucky. These individuals can migrate away from the cold. They never have to put their summer clothes away, or purchase a new winter coat. They never have to worry about which boots to wear just to go to the mailbox. They spend the winter working on their tan.
By spending winters in the warmer climate, snowbirds don’t have to deal with icy roads, shoveling their walks, falling on the ice and all of the other winter hazards.
They have a good reason for coming back, it’s home.
If they had to call any one place in the world home, Indiana would be it. They have their home here and their family.
The neighbors and family watch the house for them. Snowbirds aren’t just sunny-day friends. They do miss Indiana but not quite enough to brave the cold and snow.
Basically, they escape from the hard cold during the winter and it is beautiful in Arizona.
Within a few weeks you can see the snowbirds flying (or driving) back to Indiana. You can be sure winter is out of view. Gone but not forgotten.
Nancee Harrison is a past columnist for the Greene County Daily World. Visit www.blondeladywithdarkroots.com or email her at blondeladywithdarkroots@gmail.com or send comments to Nancee, Daily World, box 129 Linton IN 47441.
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