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\up0 \nosupersub \ulnone \outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2 Heller, 
\f1\i \cf2 \strokec2 Midnight Sleigh Ride			
\f0\i0 \cf2 \strokec2 		page 1\
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Snow was falling and school was canceled.\
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Bruno, my dog, lay asleep at the bottom of my bed.\
Mom didn\'92t wake me that day.\
She called Mrs. O\'92Grady instead so she could baby-sit me. Mrs. O\'92Grady lives next door.\
Then Mom left a note on Bruno\'92s collar as she always did \
when there was a snow day.\
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When I woke I knew Mrs. O\'92Grady was there because I could hear her humming as she made breakfast in the kitchen.\
I imagined Mom clearing off the car\
before she headed for work in the early morning hours.\
I wished that Mom could have a snow day, too but\
she worked at the hospital and hospitals never, ever close.\
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Mrs. O\'92Grady read me Mom\'92s note while I ate breakfast. It said:\
\'93I\'92ll call later, Keri. \
Don\'92t go out. Stay indoors. \
Love, Mom.\'94\
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I spent the day watching TV and playing Old Maid with Mrs. O\'92Grady. She taught me how to make cards with cut out hearts in them. I made one for her and Mom. I showed Mrs. O\'92Grady how to make peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches for lunch. \
Later, Bruno and I gazed out the window at the snow-covered hill in the back.\
\'93What a great day for sledding,\'94 I told Bruno.\
But we can\'92t go out because Mom\'92s at work.\'94 \
Bruno sighed.\
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Bruno and I were thrilled when we finally saw Mom\'92s car pull into the driveway.\
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Mom looked so tired when she came in. I wished she didn\'92t have to work so hard.\
Mom thanked Mrs. O\'92Grady and I gave her my cut out heart card. \
We watched her make her way home until she waved from her door.\
Then Mom and I watched the weather together while we ate dinner.\
The weatherman was saying more snow tomorrow.\
Schools were canceling already. \
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\cf2 \strokec2 Heller, 
\f1\i \cf2 \strokec2 Midnight Sleigh Ride					
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Suddenly Mom\'92s face lit up.\
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 \'93Let\'92s go outside, Keri,\'94 she said.\
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\cf2 \strokec2 I pulled on my hat, jacket, and boots.\
Bruno bounded outdoors dancing in the flakes.\
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Mom plugged in the sparkling white lights that she always kept on an evergreen tree in the back yard. She says \'93a spell is cast when they light up the dark world.\'94 And it was.\
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The snowflakes stuck to us. Mom looked like an angel with her rosy cheeks and halo of snow on her head. \
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The evergreen tree swayed as if greeting us. It was blown by the cold, gusty wind. And Bruno couldn\'92t get enough. He howled into the wind in delight. \
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The sleds crunched as they sped down the hill in the snow. So did our feet as we trudged back up the hill for another ride down. Again and again. \
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There were no stars as there might have been on a clear moonlit night. We were led only by the lights of that swaying evergreen tree. And that was enough. \
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Bruno sped ahead of us and back again. He kept nudging us along faster to the top of the hill. He was a blur of white in the snowy night. We went up and down the hill a zillion times that night! Bruno never tired of his own game of chasing us. Then he sat on Mom\'92s lap for a ride.\
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Heller, 
\f1\i \cf2 \strokec2 Midnight Sleigh Ride
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Mom laughed as Bruno and I caught snowflakes on our tongues. Then she tried too!\
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After sledding we went for a walk in the soft, white snow. \
Bruno led the way. Houses were dark; even Mrs. O\'92Grady\'92s house. Everyone was asleep.\
\
\'93Keri, I\'92ve a surprise,\'94 Mom said.\
\'93What is it?\'94 I wondered.\
\'93I\'92m staying home from work tomorrow. It\'92ll be our snow day,\'94 she answered.\
Bruno and I twirled her around as the snow kept up its\'92 promise of at least a foot more. \
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The snow was falling harder now. It made soft sounds as it floated down around us.  \
Ours were the only footprints in the snow. \
We felt as if the world had been made just for us. \
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I grinned at Bruno for we knew that the world did belong to us that night for a little while during our snowy, midnight sleigh ride! \
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\f2\i\b \cf2 \strokec2 Midnight Sleigh Ride
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\cf2 \strokec2 Maryellen Heller\
4 Harvest Hill Road\
Danbury, CT 06811\
Telephone Number: 203-739-0101\
Cell Phone Number: 203-232-9355\
Email: [email protected]\
}