Sub Zero

Bright, beautiful, and deceptively sunny... I bundle the little ones into their winter clothes and together we make the short trek down the snow covered driveway. The powdered snow squeaks under our feet and my nostrils burn with the cold. The windchill is once again well below zero degrees Fahrenheit, though the actual temperature is about 8º. I gather Mom's newspaper from the box and check for yesterday's mail which was forgotten in the busyness of the day.

The bitter wind stings my cheeks and bites at my nose, but the children barely notice. They are too caught up in the excitement of snowballs and mounds of snow left behind by Dave's snowplow. The bus arrives, gatheres the girls into it's shelter, and rumbles off down the road. Andrew and I wave our mittened hands to the driver and head back toward the house. Untouched snow along the driveway and into the yard is left sculpted by the wind. I can just imagine what the frozen wastelands of the tundra and Antarctica must look like.

Inside the house we pull off boots and mittens. My coffee, is finished brewing, an inviting aroma in the air. My Little Guy nibbles on graham crackers and drinks apple juice while I sip hot vanilla coffee. The day has just begun...