On those winter days when the temperatures drop and snow falls we can expect to find icicles forming, frozen and beautiful. Some are small, random, or lined up along the edge of the roof like little soldiers. Some can be quite large depending on the amount of precipitation. They may linger a short while or stay around for a weeks on end.
I find icicles particularly intriguing when the sunlight catches them. In those moments it seems as if winter and summer collide. If those moments last long enough, the icicles may begin to melt causing them to change size or shape, perhaps even disappear. Like snowflakes, each is unique, constantly changing based on temperature and the reflection of light.
During this icicle season I often smile and think of my dad. Being a mechanical engineer who valued his home and how well it functioned, he took great care to maintain our home and was always on top of preventing problems. Dad was a very handy man, quite skilled and knowledgeable, fixing most breakdowns himself. Prevention, however, was a priority on his list.
So, I can still hear one of his famous winter requests as he gazed out the windows of our Midwestern homes — “Deb, go get me a broom…” And I would get the broom, hand it to him, and then watch as he opened window after window, sometimes needing to stand on a chair or ladder to get the best reach so that he could knock down the large icicles. It was an art he had mastered over the years.
Now, I would protest that dad should not destroy such beautiful natural creations, and he would agree, but dad was adamant that leaving them hang on for weeks would break down the roof shingles, stress the roof structure, and cause leaks to our home. For him it was a given that protecting the structure of the home that sheltered our whole family was priority, even though he was an avid nature love who read his National Geographic from cover to cover.
So, icicle removal was one of dad’s winter rituals. And even though I am thankful that I have spent most of my adult life living in a warmer climate where we don’t generally see those big and potentially destructive icicles that could cause damage, when our little icicles do form and the sunlight captures them showing their brilliance, I don’t go for the broom as my dad did, but sit and enjoy their beauty and think of my dad and all that he treasured and protected in his life….
Miss you, dad. Enjoy that place where you are — that place where icicles meet sunshine.