Snow Day

The schools closed, the roads closed, and my office closed. For the first time in years, our whole family was home on a weekday with nowhere to be.

We built a lopsided snowman and named him Gerald. We had a snowball fight that my youngest won by cheating. We made hot chocolate with too many marshmallows and watched an old movie under every blanket in the house.

Around four in the afternoon the power flickered off. We lit candles and played cards by candlelight, and my teenage son, who usually lives inside his headphones, told us long, funny stories about his friends. We laughed until our stomachs hurt.

The power came back at seven. Nobody rushed to turn the TV on.

I think about that day often. Nothing special happened, and that was exactly what made it special. We just had time, and we spent it on each other.