A Winter Memory

I barely slept that night. The excitement was too much for my six-year-old little heart. Early the next morning I was going rabbit hunting with my daddy. We rose early right after dawn and ate a quick breakfast. Mom bundled me up in my warmest shirt and pants, two pair of socks, coat, mittens, and a cap. We headed out into the bitterly cold morning and crossed the road to an open field that sparkled in the rising sun. Around the field was a barbed-wire fence that daddy helped me through. I couldn’t believe how deep the snow was. It came up to my knees which made it hard to walk. It was more like a shuffle as I pushed my little legs through the deep snow. I tried to walk in daddy’s footsteps, but they were too far apart. It didn’t take long for the deep snow to fill my boots and soak my pants. This rabbit hunting was tiring and cold. We didn’t see a single rabbit although daddy did point out some rabbit tracks in the snow. I looked back across the field toward home wishing I was inside where it was warm. I really don’t know why daddy took me hunting. He knew you had to be quiet to sneak up on a rabbit and he knew I could be a Chatty Cathy at times. Finally, daddy was ready to return home. We retraced our crooked trail of footsteps back across the field which seemed to be growing as we walked. About the time I thought I couldn’t take another step we came to the barbed-wire fence. Daddy separated the wires and I ducked through, only I didn’t step far enough over the bottom wire. One of the prongs tore my pants and poked into my leg. I still remember the bright red blood on the white snow. That was not such a great ending to a day I was looking forward to with excitement. I was so glad when we were inside in our warm home. My cheeks were tingly, my fingers and toes were ice cold, and my leg stung, but mommy was there to make it all better. Even though rabbit hunting wasn’t near as exciting as I thought it would be, it is still a special memory of a winter day with my daddy.

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Winter Writing Sanctuary

Assignment: A Winter Memory