I peered through the window, and excitement lit up my face. Adrenaline pierced through my body like a knife as I gazed at the familiar scene in front of me. Consuming my front yard was a blanket of snow. White flakes were still tumbling down from the sky, blending in smoothly with the whiteness beneath it. Long, pointy icicles hung from the roof, sharp enough to hurt anyone they fell upon, and cold enough for any tongue to stick to. The snow was piled highest where the grass met the street and along the perimeter of the driveway, due to the early morning snowplows and shoveling. The stark, bare trees from the night before now had a soft layer of snow on them. The fluffy flakes gave the trees back some of the beauty that the fall had taken from them.

I tore my eyes away from the wonderland in front of me, and sprinted to the already open closet. I put on my hat, gloves, scarf, boots, three layers of sweaters, and my favorite worn, but snug jacket. I hurried to the front door, but slowed my pace as I drew nearer. It rained the night before, and the drop in temperature caused the pavement of the porch to freeze over into a slippery deathtrap. As I opened the door, a sharp, frosty breeze whipped in my face, leaving a stinging sensation on my cheeks. I carefully maneuvered myself off the steps while holding onto the railing for dear life. Once my feet were safely off the porch, I once again became aware of the white mess around me. A grin spread across my face as I jumped into the first pile of snow that met my eyes. My feet and legs became submerged in the snow, causing a shiver to run down my entire body. Icy snow seeped into my boots and socks, but I wasn’t concerned. I flipped onto my back and began to make the first snow angel of the winter. I waved my arms and legs back and forth for longer than necessary. I even moved my head around in a bizarre fashion to get the ideal imprint. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t get the first snow angel of the season perfectly right.

I got up very slowly, careful not to ruin my new creation. As I stared, I felt a warmth spread through my body that had nothing to do with a change in the weather. The angel was better than I hoped for, and I wished that it could stay there forever.

The sound of laughter rang in my ears, and I turned my head toward the source of the noise. Two children were playing at the house across the street, with expressions of utter joy etched upon their round faces. Their happiness was radiating off of them, and nobody who came across them could help but smile. The girl had bouncy, blonde curls with striking blue eyes. Her plump cheeks had a pink tint to them, and her friendly smile revealed dimples at the corners of her mouth. The boy on the other hand had a redish tint to his hair, but matching striking blue eyes. Sprinkled across his face was a variety of freckles, and his wide smile showed the biggest two front teeth I had ever seen. I watched as the girl was tying her shoe, and the boy realized it was time to make his move. While she was distracted he quickly packed together a ball of snow, and innocently called her name. She looked up automatically, leaving her face dangerously exposed. He hurled it at her with determination, and caught her off guard. She fell to the ground in surprise, with her mouth gaping open and her eyebrows raised. As he was snickering, she aimed one at him from the ground, knocking him full in the face and wiping the smirk right off it. They began an intense fight, throwing snowballs one after the other with no hesitation or mercy until they finally collapsed to the ground in giggles.

I heard my mother’s stern calls from the house to come inside. I hadn’t realized until that moment how cold it really was outside. With a violent shudder, I hurried into the house and was welcomed by its toasty atmosphere. My mother ripped off my clothes with an urgency, muttering something under her breath about it being flu season. She quickly threw my wet clothes in the dryer and dragged me to the fire place. “Sit,” she scolded, with a rigid look. I couldn’t refuse even if I wanted to. The warmth of the fire was so appealing. I melted right into the chair, pulling it closer to the flames to get my hands warm as well. A second later my mother appeared, and in my hands was something else to warm them. The warm liquid felt so good streaming down my throat, I didn’t realize until after that I burnt my tongue. The marshmallows were almost nonexistent from the steaming hot chocolate, but I managed to scoop the last one up with my tongue. My eyes were lost in the flames as they danced around the brick fireplace, eager for more wood to burn. They flared, crackled, and licked at my insides, heat pursuing my body.

I reluctantly got up from the cozy chair and wrapped a blanket around myself. My living room consisted of the rest of my family, huddled together and watching the white flakes fall from the starry sky. Once again I peered out the window, but this time I was not enjoying the moment by myself. We all sat back, each of us touching each other one way or another, and together admired the sudden, breathtaking beauty this blizzard had brought.