Golden

When I stumbled downstairs this morning and opened the back door to let in a cat, I saw a backyard transformed. Every blade of grass, every dead flower in the garden, every leaf and pine needle glittered with frost. Leaves, made heavy by the ice, kept fluttering down all around me as I walked out to warm up the car so that I could take Shaggy Hair Boy, Skater Boy, and Blonde Niece to the five-hour course that's required as part of getting a driver's license.

My daughter was coming home on the early afternoon train, so it was time to kill the fatted calf — or at least make vegan chocolate cake. By afternoon, the whole family (and assorted extras as well) was home. It's just been an ordinary kind of day: all of us hanging out by the fire while the kids joke around. The house was messy as usual, with books and papers and laptops strewn about the living area, but it smelled like chocolate cake and woodsmoke. With-a-Why and Quick sat on the floor of the living room to play a long game of Go. Beautiful Smart Wonderful Daughter sat on the comfy couch, with a brother on either side of her, looking up stuff on her computer.

By late afternoon, Boy in Black was stretched out on the floor in front of the fire, sound asleep with a cat on top of him. I stepped over him to claim a spot on the comfy couch next to my daughter. First Extra showed up for the poker game that's now going on at the kitchen table. Quick moved from the board game to the piano. My husband and I had plans to clean out our closet (yes, that's the kind of exciting plans we make for a Saturday night), but we abandoned the project after about ten minutes. Sometimes a change in weather means giving into the luxury of just hanging out by the fire with the rest of the family.