The Reindeer Keeper

Besides the pine desk my grandfather made me one year for Christmas being one of my most favorite Christmas presents ever, my white figure skates are on that list as well. Little did I know that particular Christmas morning, as I sat on my knees in the living room of a house situated alongside a lane, with my grandmother watching me open a box and finding the skates underneath sheets of tissue paper, that many years later I'd remember that moment when opening the box as if it was yesterday. I'd asked for the skates. I'd seen them sitting on a sled in a window of a hardware store in our downtown when out Christmas shopping with my mother. The skates were just as I imagined. I knew they were for me. Shortly after that Christmas we moved out to the country. Lucky for me and my skates there was a creek that flowed through the field behind our house and cousins next door who loved to skate. In the winter once the creek froze over, we were down there w...

I don't remember how old I was when I got my skates for Christmas. I just remember how excited I was. Finally, I had my own pair of white figure skates. A few years later we moved out to the country where a rambling creek flowed behind our house-and those of my aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. While the creek provided lots of playtime all year round-Winter was my favorite season, especially when the creek froze. That's when my cousins and I spent hours outside, and most of that time was skating. Day and night-whenever we could-we'd be down there. It didn't matter what the temperature was or how hard the wind was blowing or how fast the snowflakes fell.We'd be on the creek-swirling and twirling; playing and pretending. It was fun lying on our stomachs and looking down into the frozen water. Creek grass and gnarly reeds appeared suspended in time. It was like looking into a water globe where nothing can move. Sometimes we'd pack a sandwich, f...