Dear Universe,

It has been a crazy week.  The Blizzard of 2013, Nemo, came in and hit the Northeast with full force.  I thought I couldn’t take a storm with such a cute name seriously.  Nemo was determined to prove me wrong.

When I was little I loved being snowed in, watching movies, drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows and then playing in the snow as soon as enough had accumulated for snowballs, snowmen and sledding.

This snowstorm was a little different from those nostalgic memories.  Losing power for 4 days has left me with a whole new set of memories.

Here are a few things I learned during this record-breaking blizzard:

1.  Stocking up on ice cream hours before losing power proved to be an idiotic choice.  As soon as the heat kicked off, the last thing I wanted was ice cream.

2.  I can wear a hat, gloves, two scarves, three sweaters, leggings, leg warmers, tube socks, furry boots and camp out under a down comforter and still be down-to-the-core- cold.

3.  It is possible for my car to get completely buried in snow with only the side mirror peeking out as proof that it’s there.

4.  There is such a thing as brain freeze.

Really though, the experience just reminded me how lucky I am to have a roof over my head and heat during these bitterly cold winter months.  I am always grateful for these things, but my appreciation hit a whole new level.

It also made me appreciate all the family and friends who constantly checked in, offered help, warm meals and a place to stay.

Thank you for the power and heat being back on.  I am finally starting to warm up, but I don’t think I’ll be fully toasty until June when I am digging my feet deep into the hot sands at the beach.

Also, thanks to my wild turkey friend for coming in this morning to check on me while I was writing this!  (He was a little camera shy).

With Gratitude,

A