It was a frigid winter morning, and I had just awakened in one of the guest rooms at my mother’s house. I had come to visit and help with some chores are around the house before the holidays. Unfortunately, because the holidays were coming up, my wife wasn’t able to get off from work, so I had come alone. I climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.
As I walked down the hall I noticed the other guest room door was closed. “Huh, I guess Laura and Mark must have gotten in last night…” I thought to myself. My younger sister Laura and her husband Mark lived a good three hours away and had been iffy about coming down to help with the various chores we had to tackle. I was relieved to think they’d be here today, as I was planning to patch a leak in the roof and figured it would be easier with help. I continued to the kitchen.