Foxes

I love the snow. Even snow in March or April. I love to play in the snow, to sled, tube, snowboard, ski, throw, build, eat, and everything else that can be done with snow. Growing up in a small town in rural Utah it was easy to enjoy the simple pleasure that snow brought. School was never cancelled because of snow. In elementary school we were allowed to play outside during recess in the snow. We would build some of the biggest snowballs one could imagine. Because the fields were so big and devoid of trees or other objects that might impede the ability to roll the snow, one could easily roll a ball of snow bigger and taller than even the tallest student on the field. Sometimes it would take two or three or even four people to push the mountain of snow around the field but we did it. Some of those snowballs would still be in the field well into April. At home we would make forts out of snow and have snowball fights with all of the neighbor kids. We never really had teams usually it was one against everybody else but occasionally we would end up with two or three teams battling each other. We always got wet and cold but we didn't care. Sometimes I would lose a glove or mitten when throwing the snowballs because the snow would stick to the ice and snow on the glove. There were occasions when we would lose a glove to a snowball or a snowman and never see it again until the snow melted. One of the games we loved to play in the snow was foxes. This was a game made for the snow. To set up the game of foxes first you had to have snow. First the field has to be created. This is done by walking in a large circle and shuffling the feet to kick up the snow and make a deep track. When the circle is done you make a cross from one side of the circle to the other. Once this cross is made a smaller circle is made at the center of the cross. The snow is all trampled down in that area and another smaller area is created at the end of one of the crosses. The center is where the person that is the fox starts and the place at the bottom of the cross outside the circle is the rabbits den. The game begins and the rabbits run around the circle. There is no place that is off limits but the rabbits and the foxes must stay on the created paths at all times. The fox chases the rabbits and converts them from rabbits to foxes if they are touched. The only safe zone is the rabbits den but as we played we made sure that a time limit was added as to how long one could spend in the rabbits den. The last one to be caught became the first fox of the new game. I with my older sister and two younger brothers and younger sister could play for hours. Running around in the snow being chased by the fox, trying to stay upright while running the circle. Playing with the fox by going into the middle of the circle and waiting. We would slip and slide, jump and dive around in the snow. Our jeans would be completely soaked by the time the games were finished. I think the only thing that would bring us inside from our game was mom calling us for dinner and even then we would protest that the game wasn't done yet and try to get another ten minutes in before she called again. Now the other rule in the house was that we were supposed to come in the front door after getting all wet because we had a mud room in between the front door and another door into the house complete with a closet to hold up all of the coats and mittens and gloves and boots. We made it most of the time but dad would usually have to come in and yell at us to clean up the piles of coats and boots and gloves and hats and scarves from the floor of the closet or even the floor of the mud room. The piles could get so high that the door to the closet would not shut or the door to the house which opened inward would not open because there were too many things on the floor. Naturally when we were called in from the back door we came into the house using the back door which almost always meant a trail of wet coats, gloves, and hats as we took them off along with the melting snow from the back door, through the TV room and living room into the dining room and kitchen. With red cheeks and dripping noses we came to the table ready to pray and eat.