Moment-ous

This is a moment's peace. A momentary peace. A moment of peace.

Me atop the comforter of our queen-sized bed in the dark of my bedroom. My husband breathing steadily and easily beside me, tucked beneath that same comforter, his gentle inhale and exhale exerting a soporific effect on my senses. Tomorrow has been declared a snow day by cautious county school officials, thus my middle-schooler and my high school junior float about the house like two unique flakes showered forth from the same impending storm, adrift in a haze of joyous delirium . . . they are possibly the closest any of us will get to actual SNOW. But, really, isn't that beside the point?

My family is fed: a belly-filling, hunger-satiating combination of vegetable-laden pork fried rice, homemade blue cornmeal cornbread, and pot roast leftovers dropped off by my mother, who hands-down wins the award for best roaster of red meat and veggies by every member of my immediate family. I shared a nibble of my 72% dark chocolate square with my spouse, lulled into complacency by his admiring crooning over my gray pants and black blouse combination, before he moved on to hang out with his guitar for a bit while I socialized over a few hands of Scrabble Slap with the youngsters in the house.

I've done a bit of pest-free and sweat-free farming on Facebook: doesn't hurt now and again. Where else can I plant and harvest from starfruit trees, black cats, and pink calves, AND send a few shout-outs to friends and family without tying up my ear and the phone lines?

At one point, I caught a sustained glimpse over the screen of my laptop of a show on the tellie about an organic chocolate shoppe in New York and decided it was necessary to track it down online. Boy, was THAT one of my better ideas of the night! CocaoVino was its name-o. It's safe to reveal that I have uncovered what I covet for my Valentine's Day dream chocolate fix of the year: can you say drunken fig, comprised of three decadent gourmet layers of palate-pleasing richness? And, organic and sustainable to boot!? Somebody please inform the proper purchasing romantic party. Thank you. The four-pack is plenty. It's not cheap, but I'm worth it!

My belly is pleasantly full of air-popped popcorn which I lightly sprayed with canola non-stick spray, sprinkled with sea salt, and very sparingly drizzled with dark agave nectar. I crunched and munched to my heart's content and worried not a lick or a wink over taking down the Christmas ornaments, balancing the checkbook, catching up on my important letter writing, or the state of the world and my role in it. No, my biggest concern was picking up the escapees and leaving no survivors!

Now, as my self-imposed midnight deadline fast approaches, I sense there is still time to floss and change into my long johns (worn inside out to encourage snow accumulation) without tempting the clock to tip over. The main impediment to this goal will be actually dragging my very comfortable body from its place of comfort atop bed and beneath laptop, swathed in the lovely loose knitted poncho sent to me from my Canadian cousin and leaving behind the sonorous strains of my husband's sleep sounds. I've no wish to upset the apple cart as I know what will come of it. This, too, shall pass.

But, it has been blessed relief. If only for a moment.