I just got home from eight and a half hours at work, with a hell of a blitz at the end. When I first staggered out to my car in the snow, I thought I'd come home and just drop into bed like a giant sack of meat. But when I got home, I found I was less tired than I thought. It was still snowing, in sparse fluffy flakes. There were only a couple of inches on the ground, all fluffy and smooth and sparkly. It was almost one in the morning, so I let my dogs out front to run around a bit, and I stood out in the snow, letting flakes accumulate on my hair and my eyelashes, chasing my puppies around. They were so cute! The big dog was loping in circles, kicking up snow all over the place, and my little girl trotted around snuffling and snorting into the snow until her little paws got cold.

I planned to stay in then, but the big dog just looked so freaking happy that I took her back outside. She's at least eight years old, but she just wiggles and hops like a puppy when she's happy. So I grabbed my keys and walked with her to the grassy causeway between my neighborhood and the next. It's almost like a little park, with trees planted occasionally and fences on either side. I'd been wanting to take her over there, but there aren't any lights--but tonight was perfect because of the snow. All the light reflected off the snow; the air was gorgeous and clear, and it wasn't even that cold. My pup walked ahead of me, like she knew where we were going ...

And as soon as we got to the grass, she took off! It was hilarious. She just ran flat-out as fast as she could for about a hundred yards, then circled back and made figure-eights around me. She did that for about five minutes. Every one in a while she'd stop and sniff at something, or just look at me, until I called her--and then she'd sprint back to me, ears back, tongue lolling, barreling at me like she would knock me right over. I could practically feel the joy coming off her, and I wouldn't be surprised if my laughter woke up light sleepers in the nearby houses. It was just gorgeous.

After about ten minutes, though, she would stop and look at me and then back toward to house. So I started tromping back, and she ran ahead. When she ran through the gap in the fence I got a little worried, so I started running. When I got to the fence, though, I saw her trotting up the sidewalk to the front door. She waited on the step for me while I crossed the street and the yard, panting and wiggling and just so happy (I tried to take a picture with my phone, but as you can see I caught a snowflake instead of a dog!).

My hair was covered in snow, my pants were soaked, me and the dog were both wet and a little cold, and we were both happy anyway. It was a perfect ending to the night.