Our power was out at home all last week. And since we're on a well that meant we didn't have any water. Add to that the fact that our one and only family car was at the mechanic being "ripped apart" (their words, not mine)... well, we'll just say that it was a stressful week at the Sassack Household.

We spent the first few days of the blackout fighting against the inevitable darkness. We spent a lot of time at my parent's house. Sure, we had all the conveniences and distractions we could want (microwave, television, internet), but it was exhausting trying to chase our kids away from grandma's fragile knick-knacks, and they quickly became cranky and overtired from lack of naps and reasonable bedtimes (both the kids and the grandparents).

So after a few days of fighting against it, we finally decided to embrace the power outage. We stayed home where the kids took their usual naps and I, lacking the resources to wash dishes or vacuum,... wait for it... read a book! We scrounged up a coupon and treated ourselves to a family dinner out and then headed back to the house where we spent the twilight hours telling stories by firelight and catching lightening bugs. I was asleep by ten o'clock.

The nitty gritty of life happens to the best of us - and almost always at the worst possible moment. And it's often during these moments when culture tells us to "kick it up a notch" that we will find the most peace by doing the exact opposite. Think of these bumps in the road as speed bumps in your road of life. They're a simple message to slow down and pay attention. Stop and rest a while. And enjoy the simple beauty of dancing with you family by the light of the fireflies.