At 5 am on a random Thursday morning the home phone wakes up the whole house. Footsteps of my parents moving towards my bedroom door. Light hitting my closed eyelids and a whisper of “snow day” mixed into a sentence that I could only assume is “That was the school calling, you have a snow day today”. When the bedroom door has been closed I slither even deeper into my covers and fall back asleep. 

A couple hours later the stomping of my siblings running down the stairs alerted me to open my eyes. Pushing my covers off to the side. Jumping out of my bed to check outside the window. Seeing the delicate white snowflakes fall onto the four existing inches of snow on the ground. My house is lit up from the reflection of the sun on the snow. 

My siblings and I rummage through the closet of gloves and hats until we find the ones that match best with our one piece snowsuit hung up behind all the winter coats. I wore a black one with pink stripes along the seams that made me sweat anytime I attempted to put it on myself. My mom or dad would help put on my gloves, snow boots, and hat. 

We slide the backdoor open and an immediate chill instills within us. With each step our footprints mold into the snow. Running through my backyard ends in many falls onto the snow below me. The slide on our playground was suffocated by snow, my sister Blake slid down with a huge grin. I quickly followed after her, the melted ice residue was all that was left. No need for me to push myself, the second my weight hit the slide, I flew. The rush of the wind and speed I felt going down led me to reclimb the ladder and recreate it over and over again. The laughs and adrenaline that was building within me, Blake, and Khan bounced between us. 

Out of breath, I chose to lay onto the pillowy snow to what felt like miles away from my laughing siblings. I position myself flat onto my back, facing the blank sky. Snowflakes slowly fall before my eyes and melt into my skin and clothes. With each exhale the heaviness on my eyelids grows until they close. 

“Hot chocolate is ready, Rae!'' my dad yells from the house. I take a quick peek at the indent I left in the snow before I slide open the door. The scent of winter candles fills my nose. Taking off my snow gear and accessories always gives me a feeling of relief because the weight and heat are literally lifting off of me. 

I grab the white mug sitting on the counter in between a blue and black mug and dump a handful of mini marshmallows into my cup. The blue one would eventually be picked up by Khan and the black one would have been left to Blake. I hurry to the living room so I can plop onto my spot on the couch, front and center, facing the television. I take the remote and as I am shifting into a comfortable position, I keep clicking the direction buttons to choose from the wide selection of holiday movies in my list. Finally one catches my eye, but of course, my sister uses her loud and judgmental voice to scold me on my choice. 

The typical sibling clash that always hits when we seem to be starting to get along. The setting was so perfectly set, but in one moment it all untangled. The back and forth of who gets to choose the movie for everyone. Between Elf or Home Alone the bickering grew into a name calling competition until my parents stepped in. They would either say “Okay now we are picking the movie for you” or they let my brother choose. If it was my parents, usually they go with the classics like A Wonderful Life or National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. If my brother decided on the movie, it was always Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas. My brother figuring out that he would be able to make the final decision made him feel way too special in mine and my sisters eyes, ending in the two of us staring him down as if he was to blame for us arguing. 

As my family and I watch the movie, in the back of my mind there is this little voice reminding me that this will not last. Tomorrow I will wake up and be getting ready for school as normal and this snow day will be another fleeting memory of my childhood. Something so crazy for an elementary school child to think, but it is true. I was always thinking about the future and how these moments happen and move so quickly, before my eyes. 

Wondering if everyday could be just like this. The darkness starts to creep into my house. My dad flicks on a couple of lights. The day is almost over, and the dread of tomorrow kicks in.