Snowed In

The snow was falling heavy now. Children were still giggling in the streets, unaware of what was to come. "Come on Charlie, try to catch the snow flakes with your tongue!" yelled Brian as he was building a snowman.

Charlie and Brian Carroll lived on the cul-de-sac of Elm Street. Theirs was a small house; it had a small yard to go with the small snowman Brian was forming out of freshly fallen snow.

Behind the house, the woods looked more and more like giant ghosts, ready to take over the city. The close-by mountains already rested heavy with snow.

Weather predictions were calling for about a foot of snow in the city. It would not be a big deal for the Carroll family. They had just moved from Muskegon, Michigan where the snow once reached almost three feet. Mrs. Maggie Carroll looked at the sky; "we will have more than one foot of snow, you'll see," she talked back to the meteorologist on channel 5.

Maggie moved to a small mountain city after her husband passed away. She was three months pregnant with Becka when the sheriff knocked on her door. The children were at school and she was busy cleaning the house and baking a peach cobbler pie, her husband's favorite.

"Mrs. Andrew Carroll?" the sheriff asked, taking off his hat. "Yes, that's me. Has something happened?" she asked looking at the sheriff straight in the eyes. "I am sorry ma'am. It seems that your husband was on his way to a meeting when the vehicle your husband and his colleague were in was run off the road by a truck. Neither passenger made it."

It took five months for the insurance company to settle on an amount. The money would not bring Andrew back; however, it would allow her to stay home with the children until the youngest one would go to college. Maggie waited for Becka to be born and school to end, before she packed everything and moved. She wanted to move away from the painful memories.

The temperature when they arrived in their new town was a lovely 75°F. Not bad for a mountain town in early July. Maggie found the house on the Internet. It looked perfect and just right for the four of them. Brian was seven years old; his brother Charlie was five, and little sister Becka was eight months old. They settled in nicely and waited for school to start.

It was only mid October when the snow fall began. Maggie made a mental note of all the things Andrew told her they should always have in the home, in the event of a snow storm: food, alternative heating and cooking sources, emergency lights, plenty of warm clothing and blankets, an emergency radio, comfort items for the children, and faith. He would say, "Maggie, never let your faith falter! It will see you through the good and the hard times, and you will always make it through!" She knew he was right. Faith is what carried her through the last few months.

Maggie called the children. The snow was falling heavier now and Maggie felt uncomfortable leaving the children outside. Something was nagging her, although she could not pin-point the trouble. "Brian, Charlie, it is time to come in!" she called to them. "But, mom ... I am not done with the snowman and Charlie has not yet tasted the snow as it falls," Brian replied. "Brian, I need you both to come in the house, now!" Maggie called back.

Heads drooping, the boys went inside. The weatherman was now calling for at least two feet of snow. Brian and Charlie took off their heavy coats, gloves and hats, and then sat by the window watching the snow fall ever so gently. The wind picked up and formed a small snow tornado in the cul-de-sac. The children giggled as they watched the snow dance in circles.

"Dinner is ready boys, wash your hands and come to the table," Maggie said. "Mom, look out the window ... how cool is that?" Brian was all excited. Maggie looked out the window. Her face paled at what she saw. A big white cloud of snow was fast approaching as if dusted off from the top of the mountain. "Brian, Charlie, move away from the window. Hurry, now!" She grabbed Becka and with the boys rushed down to the basement.

As she huddled with her children she fervently prayed that the avalanche might spare their lives. She recalled Andrew's words, "Maggie, never let your faith falter! It will see you through the good and the hard times, and you will always make it through!"

"Please, please let us make it through," she pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Mommy, why is the light out? What was the big noise upstairs?" asked Charlie. "I am not sure yet, honey," replied Maggie. All was quiet now, dark and quiet. Maggie felt for the flashlight. It was in the emergency kit she had prepared with Andrew, since the storm that brought almost three feet of snow in Muskegon. "I told the weatherman we would get more than the one foot of snow, make it two feet of snow he predicted!" Maggie thought to herself.

The flashlight worked. She shone it around to make sure everyone and everything in the basement was all right. Slowly, she climbed up the stairs that would bring her to the kitchen. The door felt cold, very cold. She tried to open it, but to no avail. The snow must have ripped through the walls and miraculously stopped at the basement door. She went back downstairs and tried to open the door that led to the outside. That one was blocked, too. "We are snowed in," she muttered.

Earlier in the day, she felt she should bring her emergency supplies to the basement. She already had food stored there as the cooler basement temperature would make it last longer. She was grateful she had not brought upstairs the heavy comforters that would have kept them warm through the cold nights, although she had reprimanded herself the day before for not having done so.

After she hung the flashlight to diffuse the light, she asked the boys to help her prepare the air mattress she bought for unexpected guests. "How would you like to play camp-out tonight, children?" she asked. "Yay ..." the boys yelled, "we love playing camp-out!" The boys quickly prepared the mattress and found sheets and blankets to hang on the line Maggie prepared for them. As they sat on the mattress, cuddling with Becka, Maggie turned her thoughts to dinner.

She knew the children were hungry. The delicious meal she prepared earlier in the day was now under the snow. She walked over to the shelves where she stored the food. She was glad her children were not picky eaters. The main course for the night would consist of crackers, peanut butter and jelly. She poured enough water in a pitcher to mix it with powdered milk and serve with dinner.

The preparedness course Andrew made her attend the year before was now helping her survive the disaster. She grabbed a jar of baby food for Becka. As she sat down near the children, she looked at them with a grateful heart. The house was probably lost and they were snowed in; but, they were all together and, soon, help would come. She knew it in her heart and in her gut, the same way she felt something was not right earlier that day.

Maggie began a story, "Once upon a time, there was a family of four: a mother, a seven year old son with a five year old brother and an eight month old sister."

"Hey, it sounds like our family," Charlie excitedly blurted out. "That's right, Charlie. It is our family," Maggie replied. Calmly she told them of a mid October day, when the snow was softly falling, blanketing the town. She told them of a big snow cloud that came rushing down the mountain, and she told them of how their family was now snowed in but safely together. "Are they going to find us, mom?" Brian asked.

"Of course they will, Brian... Your dad always said that if we are prepared and we have faith, we will make it through the good and hard times of life. This is a hard time, but we are safely gathered together. We have warm blankets and food to last us until they come for us," Maggie convincingly explained as she fed Becka.

Brian and Charlie looked at their mother, "Mom, if you believe we will soon no longer be snowed in, we believe it, too."

A strange noise woke them up. It was different than what they heard before. This one sounded like a growl. All of the sudden, the noise stopped and voices called, "Mrs. Carroll, Mrs. Carroll can you hear us?" Brian and Charlie were the first to respond, "Yes, we are here playing camp-out. We are snowed in." Other noises came through, this time they sounded like someone hitting against the ceiling. The noise got closer, and closer, and closer ...

A door opened at the top of the stairs, "Thank goodness you are all right!" exclaimed the firefighter as he climbed down the steps, "Mrs. Carroll, we were so praying that you and the children would be safe."

Maggie looked at him and with a smile on her face she replied, "Never let your faith falter! It will see you through the good and the hard times, and you will always make it through!"