Spring Breaking

It's thirty two degrees outside
Snow and ice still on the ground clinging
To the last hours of life in this form
This afternoon it will be fifty five and
The snow and ice will be water again
Running down the drains and into the lake

Despite the cold
All of the kids are outside
Before eight AM

Coats  Boots  Gloves  Snowpants
on
Scooters Bikes Green Machine

The joy of outdoor playtime
Still a springtime novelty
Insulating them
As they climb on and through
The six foot pile of plowed snow
One last time

Ice Skating

She has jettisoned the
Stability Bucket

Her arms are rod straight
Out at the shoulder
Hands extended
Palms down
For perfect balance

She is taking

tiny

little

steps

taptaptaptaptaptap

As if the too much pressure from her
Small brown skates could crack the ice
At any moment

She has on the Giraffe hat
That was intended for her brother
She has claimed it as her own
It is so big that it covers most of her face
All you can see is one little green eye

And a huge, proud smile.

A Perfectly Good Sidewalk

There is a
perfectly good sidewalk
there

There is no snow
It has been shoveled
There is no ice
It has been salted
It is dry and flat and safe

But as he approaches
the nice dry safe sidewalk
He diverts
as if it is a river of molten lava
teaming with heat resistant (Teflon) piranha
strewn with thorny boy-eating plants

Into the
Wet Snow
and the
Dirty Mud

Heading straight into the
Clean Kitchen

Little Brother

From inside you
can feel the cold

The days-old snow
 is still bright white

The sun is shining
trying to do it's
wintertime best

He is in a T-shirt (T-shirt!)
royal Superman blue
Having been summoned urgently
for help

He leans against the
tree trunk
stretching his bare arms
up up up
lifting the prize

To the waiting hands
of another, bigger boy
in the highest branches
his stocking foot
leaning out in the open air
for balance

Thanks buddy!

The reward he gets
is all that he needs

Skiing

Oh crap
Oh crap
Oh crap

This is too fast too fast too fast

Turn
Turn
Turn
Turn

Snowplooooowwww

Stop

Is he okay? Turn around quickly.

Here he comes in his red coat.

Just like every time.

Proud.

The Difference Between Kids and Parents or The Letter O

Oh good!  It's still snowing!

Oh god.  It's still snowing.