Sometimes I joke to the great hunter, “What’d you get? Back?”

I do this because I know he will take it in jest, and also because I learned years ago that the question is not what he shot but first, whether he even saw anything, and then if he had a shot at it. Some days, all you get is back.

I am very glad to be back after about 45 minutes in freezing rain. It was joyous enough to drive to work in the early evening snow, anticipating white crunchiness on the return; stepping out the door of the Daily News shortly after midnight to learn the sleet already had arrived brought new levels of excitement. (You can thank me for the poll on the front of ourMidland.com and guess what my response is.)

So even though it is late and I only had about 5 hours’ sleep, I can’t just fall in after a stint of white-knuckle driving, so here I am. I have the blueberry muffins my daughter baked earlier, a glass of milk and a handful from the box of gumdrops I bought today but forgot to take to work – 24, four of each of the six colors. Woe to anyone who takes one and disturbs the pattern, and this is hereditary – my daughter has similar food sorting obsessions. Then there’s that whole other “relationship with sugar” thing, but the bloodwork absolved me so I’m popping gumdrops and watching the sleet.

From in here, it’s not so bad.

This post originally appeared on ourMidland.com, the online home of the Midland (MI) Daily News. Republished with permission.