More snow, but today I embraced it. It's been coming down nonstop for a day now, and though I don't have an official tally, I'm thinking we've gotten hit with at least 30 cm, maybe more. The snowplow's been by twice since yesterday morning, and it's once again ankle deep in the driveway.

I brushed off the car though, and after letting it warm up, Kole and I got in and went out. We watched as other vehicles tried to make it up hills, but failed; saw minor fender benders; and a whole lotta pissed off people shovelling their driveways for the second or third time already.

She had her first date today, Kole that is.  She and a boy! went to the movies, and then for lunch in the nearby mall.  I was the chaperone, of course, which is generally what I prefer doing, rather than leaving her in the care of another parent.  The boy! is pretty much in love with her, though she handles his attention very matter-of-factly. He stares up at her when she walks ahead of him, though she always giggles as he pretends to run her down as he goes by. When they come to the kiddie rides in the mall, she tugs him up as he gathers his legs in an arm, bracing himself steadily as he makes the transition from chair to ride.

When he first transferred to her school, she was just as interested in his disability as he was in hers. Both of them noticed their differences, but both were pretty busy just handling their own day-to-day challenges.  I don't know when it began, but soon, probably during the time when the weather went bad, she started telling me stories about him, and about how she was an active participant in his life.  For outdoor play, when the grounds were wet or icy, she pushed him in his chair. In return, during times when much of the class was busy with lessons, he'd read to her aloud. 

And then it began. The phone calls, the notes in jacket pockets, the little tiny gifts kept in a slowly filling music box. Less talk about Zac Effron, and more discussion about real people and real life. Now, a fascination with fashion, and a more attentive look towards haircare products. Secret smiles, little giggles when she talks to him night and day. And while it sounds like she's besotted, he's got it good, from what I can tell.

Of course, they're just kids.  10 and 11. They'll both grow up, and they'll both move on.  But it's pretty sweet for now.