There came the chilly winter, cold wind blowing. Unlike summer of vigor and vitality, everything was sad in freezing winter. My families were cooped up at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rendering us housebound and a bit trapped. However, it is love that fills the dark winter with hope and light.

One morning, I woke up to a scene of shiny white and mist. "It’s snowing hard!" I got dressed in a hurry and rushed into the snowy courtyard. After feathery snowflakes every winter, I would have a stirring snowball fight with friends. However, the pandemic prevented us from enjoying the wonderful time, a feeling of loneliness coming over me.

My deep sense of loss was noticed by my attentive parents. "Is that all?" Hearing me out, they smiled softly, "How about us?" Delighted to jump up, I cheered for the upcoming fierce snowball fight. Not before long, we were armed with thick coats and gloves, ready for the thrilling fight. Bustling about preparing "ammunition", we were at war very soon. With snowball in hand, I crept up behind Dad and threw it out, hitting him precisely on the head. Dad was not to be outdone, launching attacks against me. I dodged right and left flexibly. Snowballs past me one by one, I let out a loud guffaw for my "victory". While I was gloating, a snowball flew towards me and happened to hit me on the mouth. It turned out that Mom attacked me when I was caught off guard! They were amused by my funny look, bending over with laughter.

The battle getting more and more intense, I began to offend fiercely. It was just when they were about to be overwhelmed that I fell hard on the slippery frozen snow. They rushed over and pulled me up in their strong gentle arms. Fortunately, I was not seriously injured, only my knees and elbows were abraded. Seeing their worried looks, it occurred to me that over the years I had neglected to offer accompany and love for them.

I tried to lighten the atmosphere by pretending to have a toothache. Mom anxiously leaned over to see how it went. I took the opportunity kissing her cheek. Then we all burst into laughter. It seemed that the frosty winter became warmer because of our light-hearted laughter.

The snowball timing allowed me to realize the pandemic could confine life to our house, but couldn't block love in our home. As we grow older, we inadvertently allocate more time to ourselves and friends but less to our families. Perhaps the pandemic is a chance to offer more care and companionship for our families. Love is the sunshine to melt winter snow, the key to overcome the pandemic, and the answer to every tough moment.