Refugees

We returned home Saturday, tanned and relaxed but road-weary, from our month in Paraguay. We probably weren't much fun for my family, but deeply appreciated the smiling faces and warm lunch waiting at home. We distributed some of the clever Christmas gifts acquired abroad, and my sense was that we did all right matching up trinkets with the people they would please.

I returned with some sort of lingering low-grade tropical fever, which I was fighting off with Ibuprofen and aceteminiphen, but also must have acquired a bit of a sniffle on one of the flights (easy to do). So Sunday, I kept my head down and watched football, despite feeling like I ought to be getting into contact with all my friends.



Early Monday morning we wakened to what seemed to be a great chandelier crashing into our house. Exploding transformers lit the sky from time to time, and the sounds of snapping branches resembled gunshots. The ice storm hit us hard, and there are now a couple dozen tree limbs scattered in our yard. The largest crashed into our grill and deck, generating the shattering noise which roused us. About 4:30 a.m., the power went out. And didn't come back.



So we became refugees less than 48 hours after returning to the sanctity of home. Monday I worked from my road office at Panera Bread, once the sun came up and we were able to carve out the car. We spent the next day-and-a-half at our friends' place -- four people and four dogs trying to enjoy the adventure. But I was constantly worried about the pipes freezing.

Michigan after an ice storm is a world changed. It is beautiful beyond words, a crystal cathedral which seems frozen in time in the post-storm stillness.



Fortunately, the power company was able to restore service at about 9 last night, and we were able to return home. Today's my first day working from my own computer.