Unlikely Counterpoint

We used to have a vacation home in the mountains of upstate Pennsylvania. It was small, about 800 square feet, and very cozy. Long before the designation of Pre-Summer, our family spent many winter weekends in what the children referred to as The Tiny House.

Often we would have to shovel through snow three or more feet deep just to reach the front door of the tiny house. Usually this shoveling was done somewhere near ten o'clock at night.

Once inside, we would fire up the wood stove, turn on the electric blankets, and heat our pajamas in the clothes dryer. When the fire was blazing well enough that the coals could be banked for the night, we would head off to bed.

The wood stove was a workhorse and morning would find us in a sweat. We would cook breakfast in t-shirts and pajama bottoms while outside the snow fell and the wind howled.

We had no phone service, no cable TV, no internet. Our weekends were spent reading books and playing board games.

I'm thinking about that vacation home tonight as I sit in front of a blazing fire, sharing the room with Motivated Mom. Orange and blue flames are dancing in the stone-faced fireplace. The room is totally quiet and I can almost imagine that I'm back at The Tiny House.

...Except for the laptops Motivated Mom and I both have resting on our respective thighs. The tap, tap, tap of fingers on keyboards serving as an unlikely counterpoint to the snap and pop of glowing logs.