A Sled and a memory

     The house and barn disappeared behind them into the rapidly thickening swirl of snowflakes. The two boys giggled with excitement they couldn't contaiin. Sneaking out of the house to go sledding was an offense that would get them grounded until summer, if they got caught. They didn't care, because they didn't plan to get caught.
    The old wooden sled that their father and grandfather had used was heavy and it took both of them to get it out of the shed. Once it was out, they put it on the snowy ground and took turns pushing it to the hill. It took longer than usual, partly because of the snowstorm, and partly because they kept stopping to catch snowflakes on their tongues or to have snowball fights.
    The older one, Tommy, took his turn first when they reached the top of the sledding hill. He let the younger boy, Joey, give him a running push. He went flying through the soundless morning, sheathed in a tunnel of white. Cold wind stung his cheeks and he laughed out loud with sheer pleasure.
When he hit the bottom, momentum kept him going so he slid off and landed in a soft pile of snow.
    Trudging back up the hill, he let his little brother have a turn. Joey's heart pounded as the sled glided down the hill. The thrill of adrenaline warred with fear of getting hurt or getting caught. But, just as any self-respecting five-year-old, he wouldn't let his seven-year-old brother know there was any fear at all.
    He slogged through snow that now reached the middle of his thighs to the top of the hill.
    They each took three more turns. When Joey made it back to the top the last time, with snow nearly to his waist and breathing hard, Tommy said it was time to go back to the house before Mom caught them.
    This time, Tommy hooked his fingers through the slats of the sled and pulled it behind him, dragging trails through the snow with his legs for his brother to walk in.
    After they manhandled the sled back into its spot in the shed, they hurried to the house, snow flying around them in a nearly impenetrable wall. Tommy opened the back door and they took off all their outer clothes in the mudroom and put them in the bottom of the laundry hamper. They slipped into the dry clothes Tommy had had the foresight to bring down. Their cheecks were red, their hands cold, but nothing they could do about that.
    They went into the kitchen and sat down to eat breakfast. They were almost done with their cereal when Mom came downstairs. They glanced at each other as she got her coffee and kissed them both on top of the head. She went back upstairs and they went into the living room to watch TV, laughing quietly with relief.
    When Mom came back downstairs, she went to the mudroom, and they anxiously held their breath until she came back out and starting loading the dishwasher.
    That night, she tucked them into bed in the room they shared. She kissed them both and went to the door. Her hand was on the light switch when she turned back to them.
    "By the way, you're both grounded for this morning." 2