The First Real Snow

First Real Snow

“It’s snowing!” Homer said joyfully.

“Ugh, mucky streets, ice underfoot, dirty white views; as far as I’m concerned it could stop right now,” Cindy remarked glumly.

“But snow is wonderful! Snowmen, snow forts, snowballs fights...” her brother said gleefully.

“Cold, blowing, boots filled with snow, lost hats, scarves and mittens, 20 below,” his sister recited back.

Homer raced to put on his outer wear and ran out the door, whooping. Cindy didn’t watch him go. She threw on three blankets and curled up on the sofa across from the picture window to watch the snow.

She heard yelling, so she looked up from the contemplation of cookies and hot cocoa. There was her brother getting pelted by snowballs from all sides ceaselessly.

“That’s not fair! I‘ll go help him. That’s what big sisters are for!” Cindy told herself as she jumped up, put on her ski suit, boots, hat and mitts and ran outside.

She raced into the fray, pelting Homer’s attackers with rapid-fire snowballs. Soon she drove them away. She dug him out of the drift he’d been driven into and helped him inside.

“Get in here,” she ordered in true big sister fashion as she put him in her blanket nest and gave him the hot cocoa and cookies.

After a while, they both thawed out and happily shared one blanket on the couch.

“Are you okay, bro?”

“Yeah, thanks to you. I thought I was a goner until you came charging from the house like the Cavalry!”

“Nobody but me gets to pick on you. Besides, I couldn’t let you be buried when the snowplow came by.”

“You’d miss me?”

“Life would be boring; if I didn’t have you to bug me.”

Homer grinned and snuggled down. Soon he was asleep.

Cindy followed.