Driving Through

He flipped the headlights to bright, but the snow was descending so quickly it was impossible to see. Switching back to low beams and slowing down, the driver took a deep breath. A few warm weeks had made it seem like winter had passed. Today, it was back with a vengeance.

The children in the back of the van continued their joyous noise. “Shhh!” He hissed. The stress making him seem overly angry. They were a mere five minutes from home, but the snowpack on the road made it very difficult to see the lines. He knew a curve was coming up at any second.

He took his foot off the gas again. Starting to turn gradually, he thought it all looked familiar. Then the van slid down into the ditch.

He turned around and looked at his children. “This is why Dad always tells you to wear a coat when you leave the house.”

Ava, a sharp five-year-old, looks up and asks innocently, “Dad, did you drive in the ditch to teach us a lesson?”

His mind goes back to his twelfth birthday. He and his brother were going to get haircuts in their old Chevette. His brother shot out of the driveway like a cannon and powered up the gravel road. The tiny car bounced and slid, eventually heading into the left ditch. His brother looked over at him and yelled, “I drove in the ditch to remind you to wear a seatbelt!”

“No Ava,” he said quietly.