Early morning chore

On winter mornings, my husband gets up the earliest. He turns up the heat, puts the kettle on the stove for cocoa and tea, and begins making lunches for the kids to take to school. The first thing I do when I finally get out from under our down quilt is look out the window to see how much snow has fallen during the night. I love the way the landscape looks covered with a new layer of fresh white, glowing in the blue light of early morning. The wind blows the snow into graceful drifts, clean and untouched.

Of course, it doesn't stay like that. If more than six inches have fallen, we have to shovel the driveway, our boots plunging into those curving arcs of snow. The wind rattles the chimes that hang from the front porch and blows a mist of white snow across the banks that line the driveway. It's a nice way to wake up, really – to be outside in the muffled winter world, getting the blood circulating with a bit of exercise, breathing in the cold winter air that is filled with oxygen and moisture. Shaggy Hair Boy was in especially good spirits this morning as he and Boy in Black tossed snow up over their shoulders and onto the high banks: thanks to the weather, he and With-a-Why had another day off from school.