Callie couldn’t remember a time the snow had stopped –or even slowed –her grandmother. Gran loved the snow the way some other grandmothers loved warm weather. Callie turned off the television and grabbed the ringing phone from the coffee table.
“Hi, Gran,” She greeted her grandmother. “Yes, I did look out the window, and I did see the snow!... Mom’s at the store, but she’ll be back in a minute. I’ll ask her when she gets home.”
Callie ran to her closet to find her long-sleeved thermal shirt and fleece jacket. She wanted to be ready when her mom returned. Gran wanted to go sledding, and so did she!
Minutes seemed like hours before Callie heard her mom’s car pull into the garage. Before the groceries were inside and before Callie had a chance to ask her mother if she could go sledding, the roar of Gran’s old car announced her arrival.
“What are you two up to?” Chuckled Callie’s mother, but she already knew. Snow and Gran went together like peanut butter and jelly.
Gran was so bundled up it was hard to see her face. Callie laughed out loud as she pulled on her own boots and donned her hat. In no time at all the two snow lovers pulled the sled off the hook on the garage wall and loaded it into Gran’s car. They were just about to pull out of the driveway then Callie’s mom motioned for them to stop.
“Hey, you two! I just heard on the radio that this snow is supposed to turn into a blizzard around dinnertime. Are you sure you should go now?”
Gran glanced at her watch and said exactly hat collie expected she would. “That’s three hours from now! We’ll be fine and dandy.”
The best snow hill in town was at the city park, and that was where Callie and her grandmother headed. When they arrived, the hillside was dotted with sledders of all ages. Callie and her grandmother took turns sledding down the hill. Callie had just zoomed down the hill in twenty-five seconds, which was a record! A sledding trip with Gran wouldn’t be the same without keeping track of their sledding times. Callie grinned at Gran but noticed she looked worried. “What’s wrong, Gran?” she asked.
“Look round, Honey,” she said. “Just about everyone else has left, and it’s snowing so hard that I can’t see my hand in front of my face!”
Callie had to agree that Gran was right. It was impossible to run to Gran’s car because the snow in the parking lot had drifted, so Callie and Gran plodded along as best they could. Callie thought she heard her grandmother breathe a sigh of relief when they were safely in the car, but she couldn’t be sure. Callie was happy to be out of the blowing snow.
Gran turned the key in the ignition once. She turned it twice. After the third try, Gran gave up. “Well, Callie, it looks like it’s you and me and the blizzard,” she said. “Grab a blanket from the back seat and snuggle in. We may be here for a while.”
Callie didn’t know why, but she started to cry. Even though they weren’t far from home’ it was dark outside and everything was white, including Gran’s car. “They’ll never find us while it’s still snowing,” she sniffled. For once Gran didn’t go on and on about how beautiful the snow was and how it was a waste of a day not to spend time in the snow. Gran was quiet until the ringing of a phone broke the silence.
Callie! worried mother was on the other end of the line. Fires Callie told her of their predicament. Then Gran took the phone. “Now, now,” she said, “don’t worry. Callie and I are having our own snow adventure. We’ve got blankets, food, and a thermos of hot chocolate. You contact the park ranger and tell him we’re in the parking lot. Make sure to tell him to look under the big hill by the swing set. That’s the location of our car.”
Gran smiled, and Callie felt relieved. She burrowed under the blanket. Now that help was coming, it made being stuck in a blizzard a lot less scary and even seemed like fun.