Because We Want to Remember

"Good thing you love me!" came flying out of his mouth as I had him hooked under my right arm trying to hang on to his slippery snowpants puffy body and keep my camera in my left hand from dropping in the snow and walk in my brother's too big barn boots all at the same time.  

I bent my head and kissed Easy Rider's chilly red pinched cheek and told him, "It is a good thing I love you or I might not do this for you."

And we both giggled at the situation.

At that moment, Firecracker came running across the yard with her bunnies' frozen water in her non-gloved hand exclaiming loudly the whole way, "I got it!  I had to take my glove off!  My hand is freezing!!!  I got it!"  At the age of six, she understands.  Understands her animals depend on her to take care of their every need.  And if that means taking your glove off in the chilly winter evening air to run with a frozen water bottle all the way back to the house, then so be it.

A few short minutes later, the three of us were back in the garage, kicking our boots off, throwing our jackets down, and whipping gloves and hats off as quickly as possible to get back into the warmth of the house.  

To think, I almost missed that twenty minute or so exchange out in the winter air with my niece and nephew.  Almost missed it because it was cold and I didn't want to go out.  

You see, I took the four munchkins' Christmas pictures yesterday in the late afternoon.  Part of the deal of them sitting still and smiling was us going to see Easy Rider's heifer when we were done.  He was given the choice of one from this year's crop and his four year rancher-in-training self is prouder than punch of his weanling heifer.  I don't know if it was this deal that worked the picture magic or what but it turned out my sister-in-law and I set up the three "big" kids {if you can call a year and half big}, then quickly plopped in the tiny baby girl, and wouldn't you know it...four munchkins under the age of six all looked at me and smiled.  Well the baby didn't smile, but we'll cut her some slack, she's not even two months old yet.  But she looked.  Sil actually has several choices for pick from and it took twelve minutes.  Those kids rock.  

After pictures were done and we praised and we praised and we praised for their perfect behavior, Easy Rider looked up and said, "Now we goin' go look at my heifer."  

"Yes.  Yes we will.  But first we have to change clothes.  Let's get that done while your mom feeds Hazel."  

Clothes changed.  Baby fed.  Brother returned home.  Visiting taking place.  Homemade pizza being made.  Dragging our feet.  We still hadn't gone to look at the heifer.  It kept getting pushed back and pushed back, "In a little bit.  We'll go in a little bit."   

Easy Rider made one final plea in a slightly teary voice, "Pleaaase, can we go now?"  

At first, I wanted so badly to tell him it was cold and we would look another day and I promise we will buddy, but then I thought about a deal being a deal.  He delivered on his part.  I better deliver on mine.  And his teary little face was too much.  I couldn't back out.   

Snowpants on.  Gloves on.  Hats on.  Boots on.  Firecrackers fit.  Easy Rider said his were too tight.  And I was wearing my brother's.  We were quite the crew.   

We took off across the yard and as we came around the Evergreen tree border, all three of us yelled, "Look at the sky!  Look at it!"  Then even though it was freezing cold, I told the two of them, "Stay right here.  I'm going to run and get my camera.  It's so pretty, we have to capture it."  

Off I ran.  Back across the yard to the house.  In my brother's too big boots, freezing my tail the whole way.  

When I returned, camera in hand and started clicking, I heard this little chatter coming from below, "Oh Amy!  It IS!!  It is sooo pretty.  Are you getting it?  Are you getting it?!  Gus, isn't it pretty?"  

"I got it.  I sure did.  Now you guys stand there and we'll have that beautiful sky in the background."  

"Amy, why do you always take so many pictures?" asked Firecracker as we started our way up the pens.  The three of us crunching in the snow trying to beat the ever coming night darkness. 

"Because of skies like this one.  Because pictures help us remember.  We are out going to look at the heifers and we will want to remember this very moment.  If we don't take pictures, we might not remember just how good it was or just how pretty the sky was.  And we have such a great life, a really great life with so much to remember, we need pictures to help us."  

Easy Rider piped in with, "Yeahhhh and you think we are cute."  He looked at me sideways with his dimpled grin.     

"Of course I think you guys are cute!  That's why I like to smush your faces too."  I started to run and chase after them for the last few steps until the gate.    

I can't really explain what the next few minutes were like, but I'm going to try because I want to remember.  I want it captured in not just pictures, but words.  We finished our walk out to the heifers' pen in silence except for Firecracker yelling one time, "Oooo!!  The snow is even sparkly!"  It's like all three of us were thinking about just how perfect of a time we were really having.  Unbelievable sky.  Sparkly snow.  The three of us freezing together.  The look on Easy Rider's face when he showed me the heifers.  Me turning around to see Firecracker holding her little brother's hand because he was having a hard time walking in the straw.

We simply had a moment.  A moment I hope those two will look back on and remember.  Remember me as their aunt who went out in the freezing cold with them and who ran back in to get her camera just so she could take pictures of the pretty sky and who carried them when it was too hard to walk and who laughed with them about wearing too tight and too big of barn boots.  We had a moment.  It is as simple as that. 

Good thing a deal is a deal in my book.  Or I would have missed it.