Anticipation

We're expecting a massive blizzard tonight, such that we've not had in years.  Right now it is the quiet before
the storm.  The sky is heavy with gray.  There is already several inches of snow on the ground.  Just now a few flakes of snow are starting to whirl in the air.  But tonight is when the real action is supposed to start.

In anticipation, I have a pot of vegetable soup simmering on the stove.  Let's hope we don't lose power.  Yesterday I did some food shopping and made sure we had a lot of candles, fresh  batteries for flashlights, and blankets piled up in the living room. 

The University of Michigan has a policy of never closing.  I seriously doubt my husband will be able to make his 10 am class tomorrow if we really have up to 12" of snow.  Our neighborhood doesn't get plowed until about 2 days after a storm, and we live at the top of a hill, so getting in and out of our street can be tricky. There's a stop sign at the end of the street that when it's snowy and icy you can't stop at and just go right through and hit the sidewalk on the street perpendicular to the stop sign.  It's happened to me and it's kind of scary to know you have no control.

And yet, in this calm before the storm, everything truly is calm.  The soup smells delicious, I've just had a cup of tea, the house is quiet.  The anticipation, the waiting, the knowing, is all there, ready to be realized.