Friday December 2nd, 2016

The exercise:

Write four lines of prose about: the first snowfall.

Because that's what we had this morning, just after breakfast. Snowed enough to build up a little bit, but then was gone a few hours later when the precipitation turned to rain.

It was enough to get Max excited and I took him for a walk around the farm while it was still coming down. I was not dressed warmly enough for the occasion but he was happy in his new snowsuit.

This evening's shift at the community centre was rather chaotic. There was a fundraiser dinner for the local high school grads in the gym, so the place was buzzing with noise all night. I didn't have much to do at the front desk, but the general atmosphere of stress as they were setting up and the busyness of people coming and going all night didn't exactly encourage a peaceful, relaxed mindset.

I was glad that someone else was there to deal with the cleanup and getting everybody out, as the event went right until the end of my scheduled shift. I couldn't exactly do my usual lockup before leaving, but I did what I could.

Back to the bakery tomorrow morning for the first time in... what, three weeks? I'll let you know if I still remember anything to do with the job.

Mine:

With a squirming, face-grabbing, smiling infant in his arms, he walks from the kitchen and into the living room. His morning coffee hasn't taken hold yet, and his body language mutters tired and the end never seems to be in sight.

But then he looks out the window and a smile lights up his face as he turns his son so that they can share the view and he begins, softly, to sing.

"Oh... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

2 comments:

Greg said...

I'm guessing we'll get a picture of Max in his snowsuit at some point? It sounds like he had a fun morning, though you must have been shivering by the time you got back inside! No snow here in Malta -- I think it'll take some serious climate change to make that happen.
The fundraiser sounds interesting, but I agree with you: better for someone else to get the cleanup from that! I'm sure it doesn't take that long once you're started, but it's not much fun clearing up after someone else's celebration.
Good luck at the bakery tomorrow! And I like the cheerfulness that your piece exudes this morning -- the snow appears to have a positive effect on you :)

The first snowfall
The houses were picturesque: tall walls, narrow windows with tiny, leaded panes of glass, and steep roofs that houses at least one attic floor inside them. As the carol singers trudged from house to house they carried umbrellas and nudged and elbowed each other to stand at the back. For sure as sugar, at some point they'd hit the high notes in O Come all ye Faithful and the first snowfall would avalanche down from the roofs and crash down upon them. Much to the amusement of the homeowners.

Marc said...

Greg - yeah, I'm sure we will. Maybe next snowfall?

Hah! I like this a whole lot :) From the descriptions to the singers to the homeowners... great stuff :D