"Mom, look outside the window.  It's actually snowing!" I shouted.  As I raced to my closet, my heart pounded with excitement.  In a flash, gloves, scarves, mittens, leg warmers, knee socks, long johns and toboggans flew through the air and onto my bedroom floor.  Like a tornado, my hands searched for a matching pair of gloves.  Next I found a hat, and I was halfway out the door.  "Mom . . . I'm going outside!" I announced.
    As soon as my face hit the cold wind, I remembered the scarf laying on my rug.  But then the thought was gone!  My nose was frozen!  Fluffy, falling ice crystals flew in my eyes.   Suddenly, the smile on my face froze too!  Dad yanked me back in the house by the nap of my coat.  "You're going to have to wait until the blizzard stops before you can come out an play," he warned.
    It seemed like hours before the wind and snow turned to blue sky.  Eagerly I watched by the window while I drank tons of hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows on top.   By 3:00, I noticed my best friend playing in her yard across the street.  "Can I go out and play now?" I asked excitedly.  Mom helped me pack on all the warm clothes she could find.  My whole body was covered in layer after layer of scratchy wool and water-proof vinyl.
    In a flash, my padded legs waddled out the door.  CRUNCH!  CRUNCH!  The crisp snow mashed under my boots.  It seemed to say, "Let's have some fun!  Let's have some fun."  Sure enough, the fun began.  All the kids in the neighborhood helped to make a seven foot tall, giant snowman that looked like The Grinch.  Just about the time we were finished with the snowman, a snowball fight broke out.  All at once, I realized that I had a problem.  Drinking all of that hot chocolate was not a good idea.  By the time I got all the snow garb off and got dressed again, the sun had disappeared . . . so had my smile.
    Without saying a word, Dad looked at the frown on my face.  He put me on his shoulders, grabbed the sled, and headed for the big hill down the block.  When the streetlights came on, the snow glistened and shined.  For hours, we raced down the hill and laughed with our neighbors.  I'll always remember the shining snow and the frozen smiles on that special winter day.