First Snow of the Year

First real snow of the year. Several inches on the ground, staying and not melting. We bundled and trundled to the white and golden dunes with our sleds. A few other families pulled tiny people behind them in the thin plastic sleds of various colors, up the hills then riding down again. Up and down. Teenagers perched in the same place they always have, the highest peak slightly obscured from the rest of the sledding areas, down on snow boards, vaulting from snow crafted ramps.

Then home. Rekindling the fire to a blaze. Hot chocolate heated on the stove. Milk. Cocoa powder. Sugar. Vanilla. The four of us, in various stages of unlayering, sipped and giggled around the table. Fart jokes. Mostly fart jokes with the kids. A game of Candy Land. A book before bed.