I should have know when I woke up to a dark house. At first, I was confused, then I realized the howling wind and the bathroom night light being out were possibly related.

Immediately, I went to the source of the most UpToDate information- the town Facebook page.

Turns out, it wasn’t just leaving my warm bed that made me feel cold, instead, it was the lack of power. I rolled over, deferring my normal morning activities when I realized coffee was not happening without electricity.

So without a coffee or workout, once the power came on I rushed to get to work, expecting bad roads and delays.

Although they didn’t happen as anticipated.I was faced by overwhelming numbers as people kept coming, so that in the end, I still returned home closer to six pm than I wanted, after leaving my house at my normal 730.

And then as my children sat with me on the couch, I worked in my paperwork as She-ra and her friends saved their world.

Here I was, on a drowsy Friday night. I looked at the cartoon on the tv, then at my kids, and my work, wondering what moment it had been when the idea of going to bed at 8 pm became preferable to going out with friends. I could hardly make it through the work I had left, and was overjoyed to say goodnight and put the computer away.

Friday means no work tomorrow,

and alarm clocks that are turned off,

Snuggles in the morning,

And French toast and housecoats

Saturday morning means

a chance to catch up again,

to breathe and unwind

With long walks and short bursts of laughter,

The ones that I love close at hand

Goodnight Friday night.

See you again next week.