When I hear there’s a big snow storm coming and I know I won’t be able to go out, I think “Great! I will have all that time to write.”

It’s true that time is available. Why, then, am I so occupied with the weather reports, when it will end, how much will accumulate, that I write nothing?

I have no answer. During the past two weeks, the Northeast – along with half of the United States – has been inundated with storms. From early Thursday morning to Friday morning this week, we piled up eighteen inches of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and more snow. I was warm, dry, well fed, and had nothing to complain about, yet I could not sit down and write. I looked out the window. I made rice pudding. I watched The Weather Channel. I looked out the window. I cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I watched The Weather Channel. Off and on I checked our email. I made tea or coffee. I looked out the window. Not one thought came to my head of writing.

I couldn’t even read.

What is your reaction to a big storm?