Captivated

Six adventurous adults and seven equally venturesome children (all family members) explored the frozen lake this afternoon.

Our daughter and four-year-old granddaughter sculpted a carrot-nosed, stick-armed man at the edge of the rink (cleared ice compliments of Grampa's snow blower).  He wore a jaunty striped scarf and of course a Purdue hat.  Her husband and their two-year-old daughter shaped the snow-Boilermaker's naked snow-child nearby.

Others fashioned a horseshoe-shaped fort, the perfect stage to invite snowball fights.  Wham….wham, WHAM!  Some strode out into uncharted territory (we call this an “ice hike”), cutting paths through the fresh snow.  Various kids took turns in the oversized stroller-on-skis, a recent invention for our special needs grandson that is finding favor with everyone else as well! 

We retreated to the house after a long hard playtime, and for several hours the little kids napped like logs while the little-bit-bigger kids sat glued to movies and the adults hung out in the hot tub.  Then we all rallied and headed for the ice again with the wrought iron fire pit, plastic lawn furniture, and a sled of food in tow.

As the sun dropped beneath the horizon, it shed a metallic glow over the frozen lake. By now everyone was half-starved (the baby kept doing baby sign for ‘more please’); it was past dinnertime. We lit a fire in the fire pit (yes, out on the ice, it really is okay), roasted hot dogs, and heated up chili.  Darkness fell. While eating winter-picnic-style, an unexpected friend arrived.

The moon.

Its full face topped the trees, suspended in ink-black.  Moonlight reflected from the snow spreading like white satin on every side.  Stars peeked from the opposite side of the sky. The effect was spectacular.  Beyond dazzling.

I breathed in and out slowly, intentionally, reminding myself that this scene was actual and not imagined.  I was moonstruck, sitting on ice in a plastic lawn chair with two precious little girls in my lap (one on each knee).  Fire flickered above the ice, orange and yellow flames dancing to the noiseless song of the winter night breeze. The solid shoreline waited for us to return at the right time.  Meanwhile, our cauldron of chili bubbled and steamed, and I was held captive by the magnificence of simplicity and belonging in the midst of nature’s elements: Fire. Wind. Water. Earth.