You know it is winter in Saskatchewan when . . .

• your face is numb in the morning when you wake up


• you actually consider wearing a toque to bed


• you need to plug in your car (mental note - never live in a place where having a block heater in your car is a necessity)


• the ice is so thick on your dining room windows that you can't actually see the outdoor thermometer (which is actually a blessing because do you really want to see what it says?)

So it is officially winter here on the prairies. Don't even think you know what I am talking about unless you have experienced all four of the above examples. It would be funny if it wasn't exactly what Brookie and I are living right now. I wish I was exaggerating. It was -45 on Sunday and -40 yeterday. I haven't even looked at the weather report for today because really all I need to know is that it is still bone-chillingly cold. Yes, a dry cold but what does that even matter when it is -40?

And the hits just keep on coming because last night, the power went off a little after six and didn't come back on until almost 11. That is when I became terrifyingly aware of how cold it is outside. It was dark, cold and eerily quiet. Now, if I were not a mom, I would have panicked pretty much right away. I have no survival skills. I jump out of my skin at weird noises. The thought of scary things hiding in our basement causes me to turn on every light before braving the laundry room. I am 36 and I am a chicken. But when you are a mom and your five year old is scared of the dark, you need to pull yourself together. So that is what I did.

We lit lots of candles and chatted about what a fun adventure this was going to be. We ate our dinner by candlelight, dressed in our warmest clothes and then we had an impromptu lesson about shapes, including octagons, hexagons and parallelograms. We practiced reading. We took some pictures. Then we began to get a bit chilly so we decided to get ready for bed.

While I was brushing Brookie's teeth, she mentioned that she hoped the power came on soon so we could watch "Elf". In a moment of weakness, I said that I hoped the power would come back on soon so that we didn't "freeze to death." Yes, these were my exact words. Ooops.

I managed to make up for my accidental honesty by snuggling up in my bed with Brookie and every blanket we could find. We read stories and then when my hands got too cold to hold the books, we told each other stories. Finally, Brookie drifted off to sleep after I promised to stay awake until the power came on again. So I was left in the dark to think and ponder while Brookie softly slept beside me. I came to the realisation that power failures are fun adventures. I loved every cold, dark minute I had with Brook, talking, laughing, snuggling, telling stories. I think it was an early Christmas present just for me. I could almost hear God saying, "Here. Enjoy."

~Mandy