We awoke to a house quieted by the lack of electricity. I have always loved our gas fireplace and am particularly glad for it today as it is our only source of heat until the power returns. Outside, the proverbial winter wonderland. My boyfriend is checking for the cause of the power outage and, I suspect, beginning the shoveling process. Inside, a busy three year old “helping” mommy put his new train tracks together and my son in law very engrossed in some sort of D&D type card game…cards spread over the rug. Me…I am lounging in the recliner, snug in heavy robe and new warm slippers. Bella, our Maltese, is laying against my leg. She provides a significant amount of heat. Luckily (for all of us) my boyfriend figured out a way to make coffee! And now, our Shih Tzu has come in from the snow, cold. So my recliner has a third inhabitant…Izu, wrapped in a blanket.

I wish I could say that I had some very deep thoughts at this moment, but I don’t. I can say that I miss my routine. I have not been to the gym for several days and my diet has been off. Friday will mark a return to some normalcy and I intend to hit the gym daily for a while. I am unlikely to try to work out tomorrow…we are up at around 2am in order to get the kids to the airport and then I have a full day of work. You never really appreciate routine until it is disrupted.

Due to lack of routine, poor diet, a few too many glasses of bubbly, and 5 hours of cooking yesterday, I feel tired. My 54^th birthday was 2 days ago and I feel every minute of it today. Luckily, it won’t take much to detoxify and get back into my rhythm. As motivation, I got two silver dumbbell necklaces and a dumbbell bracelet for my birthday and Christmas.

Over the past 11 days, I realized just how much quiet I embrace in my day to day life. There are usually many long moments of silence in our home. While I love having family here, I will enjoy sitting quietly with my thoughts, our dogs, and my boyfriend.

For now, I think snow play is in my future…better get bundled up…..on second thought, I think I’ll just sit here a while longer.