I have family and friends in Texas. When much of the state lost power recently, the first thing I did was check in with them. Thankfully, everyone found a way to stay warm. Not everyone in Texas was so fortunate.

I could empathize. Our first apartment in Bethlehem had an ancient boiler that was prone to breakdowns. Our first hint of trouble came in a cold snap close to the Christmas after we moved in. I came home from work, and the heat was out. I called maintenance and was told the owners had a larger complex without heat, and they would get to us “when they could.”

The evening passed, and the night was frigid. I spent it bundled under blankets with James, my youngest son. He was just 4 years old. His older brother stayed at a friend’s. I did not sleep at all. I checked frequently to make sure James was okay. It was frigid, but we made it through the night.

The next day, the landlords put us in a hotel for the night. After that, they dropped off two space heaters.

It was not the last time the place lost heat, but after that, we were prepared. We acquired more space heaters, and got through it. And many more freezing nights, until our lease ended, and we thankfully found another, much better place to rent. But I won’t ever forget that first, miserable, freezing night.

This winter, we were freezing for much better reasons. The shared backyard of our apartment is long, and made for super sledding runs. And we made two forays into the cold to take photos of the Polar Pop. The Pop is this year’s Special Olympics Polar Plunge. Instead of running into the freezing cold river, participants popped water balloons over their heads. We made new friends, and connected with our friends at the IU 20 Parent Support T.E.A.M. James had a blast having snowball fights with friends at their team Pop.

Then we did the Pop ourselves. We played rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first. It was James. After we each had a balloon popped over our heads, we played rock, paper, scissors again to see who got our last balloon. I lost, and boy, the water was cold. But we had a blast.

It’s much more fun to be cold when you know you have someplace warm to go. Pray for Texans as they recover from their freeze. Texans are still suffering, from plumbing issues and the need for food and other basic items that became inaccessible when the supply chain stopped working. Contact the Red Cross or other local relief agencies for guidance on how to help.

And if you can, please support the Special Olympics.