Snowed In !

"Well, its best I get off to bed". "Me too, I am absolutely bushed". Aunt Jean and her sister, Alice, were ages 50 and 52, respectively, and though capable of holding their own in an extended conversation, were exhausted and simply unable to carry on into, as Sinatra would croon, the wee small hours of the morning. The logs that had been comfortably burning in the stone fireplace had been diminished to just a few deep red embers. The freshly pressed apple cider warming in the crockpot with cinnamon sticks was just about gone.  

It had been a very long day waiting for the arrival of PJ, Alice's 25-year-old and Aunt Jean's only nephew, and his adorable wife, Christine. They had been married for nearly 6 months. Christine was born in July of 1998 and PJ was born in September of the same year. She loved to tease him about how much more mature she was than he and he would chuckle and say, " I don't think so, Christine!". PJ was the abbreviated version of Paul Jr.

Aunt Jean and Alice fell in love with Christine immediately upon meeting her for the first time a little over a year ago. Not only was she beautiful on the outside but was also beautiful on the inside. And that was what was most important and obvious to Aunt Jean and Alice. On their last visit, Aunt Jean had been unable to join them as she was in the midst of a pretty bad case of the flu. Even though the two had just met one time before, Christine spent the better part of one of their two days at home, caring for Aunt Jean. She made chicken soup, she cooked and prepared a weeks' worth of meals and placed them in the freezer, and she sat by her side while she rested her eyes. Christine showed her love in a practical way!

PJ was a hard worker. Always had been. He worked with his hands and almost never missed a day's work. It was comical how they met. PJ had been assigned to a three-day job of installing a new gymnasium floor at a local elementary school. The air conditioning was not operating properly and so, the principal had asked Christine to take a hand full of glasses and a large bottle of sweet tea down to the crew working on the floor. While they were sipping their tea, Christine said something funny and poor ole PJ couldn't help himself and sprayed Christine and ruined her nice white top. Oh, was he embarrassed but Christine took in stride and chuckled. Feeling he needed to do something more, PJ discreetly inquired about her relationship status, got her number, and they went on their first date ... dinner and a movie. 

In all the phone calls, text messages, and emails, PJ never once mentioned that he and Christine had adopted a beautiful little Collie. They had named her Lassie because she looked just like the beloved star of the 1960s show. Such beautiful colors. So, it was quite the surprise when PJ and Christine arrived at Alice's home with not only their luggage but also a substantial cage and a bag of dog food. Being an old stone Farmhouse, built in 1894, it had a nice little mud room which would serve as Lassie's living quarters for the weekend.

Right beside the stone house was an outbuilding that housed the cider press and other supplies used to make the different varieties of cider that Aunt Jean and Alice sold at the local farmers market and from their tiny retail shop with limited hours. 

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The snow was still coming down but had now dwindled to a few sputtering flurries and had accumulated to, according to the mature Christine, about a foot and a half. PJ chimed in, just because, and said she was way off and it was really closer to 2 feet, perhaps 2 and a half. Anticipating challenging travel conditions when she would head home, Aunt Jean had driven the pickup, not the small SUV. Whe lived on the other side of the valley, no more than 3 miles away.

"This has been a wonderful evening, but I best be getting home". This statement was met by Alice with "You are going nowhere tonight, sis. You are staying right here until the roads are cleared in the morning and there will be no further discussion on the matter". PJ shook his head and said, "Mom's right Aunt Jean". Even Lassie was on board as she walked over to where Aunt Jean was sitting in the big ole comfy chair and placed her tiny paws squarely on each of Aunt Jean's knees and made the saddest face you could ever expect from a Collie not yet fully grown.

Well, Aunt Jean walked over to the window beside the fireplace and took a peek outside. All she could see was snow everywhere, glistening in the limited light from the full moon. "Okay, thank you for the generous offer and I will take you up on it." The relief everyone felt was not audible, but it was certainly felt by all.

Aunt Jean and Alice were roughly of the same stature so anything Alice wore could be worn, in a pinch, by Aunt Jean. She just wasn't overly fond of Alice's style. Alice liked long and roomy 100% cotton night gowns and Aunt Jean preferred a 2-piece night outfit and a pair of soft grippy socks. Alice preferred slippers. Of course, Alice didn't realize this difference in tastes because Aunt Jean never mentioned it to her, and Alice never picked up on it. She was thankful she had accepted the invitation to spend the night. 

Truth be told, she jumped at any reason whatsoever to spend the night at Alice's because she knew with one hundred percent certainty that she would be treated to a wonderful and full breakfast in the morning. Alice loved to cook, especially for a group of family members, and her skills had been honed over the years. 

The spare room where Aunt Jean slept that night was located just to the right of the entrance to the kitchen. At a little after 7a, her eyes opened and she immediately walked to the kitchen and just as expected, she could smell the frying bacon and browning of home fries. The heavenly scent of fresh coffee wafted from the percolator. Yes, a percolator, not one of those fancy new single cup makers that could send you into bankruptcy buying those little cups. She had to admit though that they certainly were convenient, and the coffee was pretty dang good, too ... and she completely understood why those machines were so popular!

Of course, the home fries were loaded with fried onions. Alice loved cooking and the preparations but not baking. So, she always kept a stock of 'ready to bake' bread products in her refrigerator for popping in the oven for a quick bread or muffins. She did love to can and Aunt Jean and her would always spend a day or two in a hot kitchen canning vegetables, tomato sauce, and making strawberry jam. 

Cooking and family was what Alice absolutely loved and it just got better when PJ and Christine, both joined them at the large, oak farm table that graced the kitchen. Lassie took up residence right beside the spot on the table where the plate of bacon was sitting.

Alice said a nice prayer, thanking God for his patience and love and the gift of family. Together they said "Amen" and began to partake of God's rich blessing.