Booklights and Blanket Forts

 We had a good old fashioned power outage on our street last night. It lasted from 6:30 until sometime in the middle of the night.  

 Digging out all of the candles, we lit up our house like a cathedral and listened to the quiet creaks and hums of the neighborhood.

The girls decided to make blanket forts in the living room. We opened the windows for some fresh air and allowed the flickers of the tiny flames to dance on our walls. Jeff Smith declared that his flashlight/headlamp made him the coolest of all. We retrieved our book lights and read. Softly, slowly, our house settled into the quiet night. Afraid of lighting the neighborhood on fire, we blew out the candles and went to sleep.

Morning came. The fans blurred with activity. The digital alarms flashed red numbers. The microwave clock beeped. The coffee grinder growled. The quiet softness of the house was left behind as the machines took over once again.

Or did they?

The girls were not ready to give in to the pull of technology.

Emma remained in her cozy nest reading.

 Grace stayed burrowed in her blanket fort making clever creations with her collection of duct tape.

 The world got back to its busy whirling while my cozy nook remained untouched.

 Even Olivia knew that the house was changed as she watched us all with a pensive glance.

And then Mama got on the computer and blogged about all of it, ironically relying on the very technology she so enjoyed being without for a short span of time.

The end.