Page 29 - Images Literary Magazine 2016 - 2017.pdf

?At least it's keeping me warm,? I silently noted. I tried my best to abstain from
complaining about things that I clearly had no control over. I was sure that my family had
noticed my restlessness.

?Let?s play a game or do something fun since we are all together,? my mother

suggested. A family game night in the dark was not exactly what I had in mind. I
envisioned myself sitting in front of a large fireplace with a crackling fire. That would have
been ideal, but I figured board games in the dark may not be half bad. At the very least, I
knew it would ease some of the jittery feelings that had sprouted and continued to
blossom inside my stomach.

Suggestions were thrown around: Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit, Outburst, and the list
went on.

?Ugh,? I inwardly sighed, but I kept my mouth shut. After coming to a consensus, the
Schaffner family began playing Trivial Pursuit. I reluctantly joined in, but before I knew it,

laughter was bouncing off the four dark walls of the living room. Questions were asked
about 1970?s television shows and famous figures from way before my time. The
pointless trivia put a smile on my face, despite the fact that I did not know any of the
answers. At that point, what mattered to me, was spending time with my family. The
chilly and dark house and the feeling of hunger, those were all issues of the past. But in

that moment, they seemed to be insignificant.
In the end, on those few October nights, as Hurricane Sandy raged outside my

window, I learned a lot. A lot more than just the fact that maybe it?s not fun living without
heat or electricity. I learned that it is important for us to make the most out every
situation and most importantly, to utilize our time on Earth by being happy and being
with the ones that we love.