The Oktoberfest Blizzard ushered in an early winter. It made us realize our dependency on comforts, electricity and electronics. It shut down roads, turned off lights, eliminated our heat, but it brought friends, families and even feuding neighbors together. It made us realize that we need each other, there is no harm in asking for help and it was okay to be vulnerable. It squashed our egos and opened the door to allowing us to accept gifts of necessity and gifts of kindness. It was a rough time, but it was wonderful to see neighbors reaching out to each other; families packed in one house communing, socializing and all of us not caring as much about how we looked.

It is the gifts of the Oktoberfest Blizzard that I want to take with me into the holidays. The forced simplicity of the event left behind some joys:

• Reading by candle light
• Board games with family and friends
• Community eating
• Going without eyeliner and mascara - scary but liberating
• Spending time with family talking...talking
• Going to bed early because it was too dark to do anything else
• Admitting you really love your Snuggy
• Watching your kids be creative and not relying on something plugged in to entertain them

Now that the lights are on, the heat is back and our cell phones are ringing yet again, I hope we do not lose sight of the fact that maybe a return to a more simple life could be the gift we give ourselves this year. Believe me, I love my toys too. But maybe, just maybe we could do so more with having so much less. Maybe start a tradition that one of the gifts under the tree must be something that is simple. How does Scrabble by candle light with wine sound?