Do I look like I got dressed in the dark this morning? 'Cause I did.

Man. Nothing says winter in Southern New Hampshire quite like a power outage. You can always tell the people who are tourists, or who are just about to experience their first winter here - they're the ones who see the trees bowing under the weight of their frozen branches and say, "My, isn't that lovely? Wouldn't it be nice if it always looked like this?"

That was me when my family first moved here back in 1996. You can all stop laughing now. For those of you who may not be familiar with the winter of that particular year, that was when we had an ice storm and blizzard right on top of each other - we were without power for about a week. We're on septic and a well, too, so that makes things even less fun. Now when I see those beautiful frozen branches, I cringe.

Anyway, our powerless evening was as pleasant as it could be. We played Kings in the Corner by candlelight (this is what those gigantic Yankee Candle Housewarmer candles are *really* for), which was a challenge. Even with the different suites to distinguish them, it's still difficult to tell the red and black cards apart in the near-darkness. I won, but this was only because we stopped after four rounds because our eyes hurt from squinting. That, and we were concerned about accidentally setting the cards on fire.

Speaking of open flames, riddle me this one. My little brother and sister used to hate power outages - it was cold, their life support system (read: GameCube) wouldn't function, and it was dark. Now, power outages inspire them with a special brand of hyperactivity, causing them to dance manically next to a table full of precariously balanced candles and flashlights. Yes, children, fire keeps us warm, but only when it's in the fireplace. If we let it roam free and unfettered, we'll be warm for a little while, but then we'll be very cold for a lot longer when the house burns down.

We did build a fire in the fireplace, which, to my surprise, wasn’t all that exciting for my younger brother and sister. Well, I was fascinated. My dad bought these special logs that you put in the fireplace, wrapper and all, and start by lighting the wrapper. He was crouched next to the fireplace, attempting to read The Week in Preview in Monday’s Telegraph by firelight, which made me a little nervous. Dad, if you’re going to use my column for fire fodder, please wait until I’ve left the room. I’m always glad to know my writing is useful, but I wish it wasn’t quite so useful in that way. He said he was only reading, but I’m going to poke through the ashes later today, just to make sure.

My dad also picked up Chinese food for dinner, which made for more interesting moments in child-rearing. Children, just because the lights are out doesn't mean you can wander around the house with a terriyaki skewer in your hand. In fact, that's a really good reason not to. I actually had to repeat that. Ah, to be so young and carefree.

The cat didn't know what to make of all of this - the darkness, the flickering lights, the humans banging into things. "Wow. No power. What do I do first? Do I chase the flashlight beam for a few seconds, then collapse with exhaustion in the middle of the dining room where no one can see me and everyone will trip over me, or do I park myself in front of the fireplace with my catnip mousie? Hey, why limit myself? The night is young - I can do it all."

We all camped out in the living room/family room for the night, as it was the warmest room in the house because of the fireplace. My mom was very generous and let me have the couch because "you have to go to work in the morning." If I wasn't an adult before, I guess I definitely am now. Only grown-ups get the couch. Even the cat didn't try to horn in on my territory, which is either a sign of respect or laziness. I'm taking it as the former.

And so, here I am in the newsroom, being a grown-up and blogging so the rest of you grown-ups have something to read while you're at work being grown-ups (and, of course, because blogging is mad fun). I wouldn't mind being a kid right now, though - school was canceled for them today, so they're going out for breakfast.

But hey, you're as young as you feel, right? Based on the fact that I had cookies for breakfast and (if the power's back on by the time I get home tonight) I'll be watching the second disc of Slayers Try later this evening, I'd say I'm still young at heart. And if anyone says I'm not, I'm going to have a temper tantrum and whine and cry until I get my way.