Risky Winter Fun and My Mom's Hot Chocolate Recipe

I feel lucky to have survived the winter dangers of my childhood unscathed, despite not always heeding the warnings of my parents!

I remember brutally cold Canadian winters that were a lot of fun. Some of my best winter memories are of time spent outside after school and on weekends. Despite being cautioned by my parents, my sisters and I didn't give a thought to some potentially devastating consequences.

We didn't believe that suffocation, head injury or even frostbite could happen to us
 
We spent hours playing in snow forts, not believing warnings that they could collapse and we could suffocate. I would practice "figure eights" and spins on the skating rink my Dad made for us, until well after dark and all feeling had left in my toes, encased in the thin leather of my skates. Annually, my sisters and I shoveled a track down our snowy hillside and poured water on it, creating a course worthy of a bobsled. Practically airborne and helmet-less, we would sail down it on our toboggan, careening into the poplar trees if we veered off-course. We didn't worry about anything - we just had fun.

My sisters and I with one of our snowmen

Years later, while taking first aid classes to become an American Red Cross instructor, I realized how foolhardy I had been. Frostbite is a serious condition that can lead to gangrene, nerve damage and other complications if not properly treated. I dodged the proverbial bullet on this one.

"Frost Nipping at Our Nose … and Fingers and Toes"
 
During winter playtime, my hands were typically encased in hand-knit woolen mittens. These could keep fingers pretty warm, unless they got wet. Lugging overflowing pails of water from the house to our back hill to pour down our sledding run, I would also splash my mittens. Perhaps, had I not been so intent upon my task, I might have gone inside for another pair. Instead I would ignore the pain as the cold bit into my fingers. Finally, it would get too dark or dinner would be ready, and we would head indoors.

Wet wool mittens!

My fingers would begin to sting soon after as I entered the house.  It would take a few minutes to unwind the thick wool scarf wrapped several times around my neck and remove the layers of my hooded parka, snow-pants, and boots. I knew it was best to just tuck my hands inside my armpits to warm them. Too impatient for that, I would fill a sink with hot water and submerge them. An incredible burning sensation would result, sometimes accompanied by a feeling of pins and needles.

Eventually the pain would stop.

I had most likely experienced "frostnip" - a mild first stage of frostbite, that doesn't usually cause permanent damage to the skin unless allowed to progress to true frostbite.


Frostnip causes skin to:

• initially become reddened
• feel very cold
• progress to feelings of numbness and prickling.
• become painful and tingling when rewarming occurs

Fortunately, our hot water heater was never set high enough to inflict a burn. In my first aid class I learned lukewarm water can be used to rewarm a possibly frostnipped body part, but never hot. Decreased sensation of the area could cause an inability to know when hot water, a heating pad or other heat source is too hot, and a burn could result.

It is important recognize symptoms of frostnip or frostbite, and know what to do if they occur.

Immediate emergency medical treatment is important in cases of true frostbite.

Experiencing winter can be a joyful time for kids, but hopefully they heed the warnings and advice of their parents better than I did!

 “Marshmallows with hot chocolate”

I'm not sure my mom ever really knew how cold my hands would get - or the technique I used to warm them up.  I remember however, that when we came indoors she would frequently be at the stove, stirring a pot of hot chocolate - with marshmallows at the ready!

Do you remember hot chocolate before microwave ovens? 

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!