Column: Winter is coming and so is Cabin Fever

Winter weather hasn’t even arrived yet and somehow the planning has already begun.

My partner looked at me yesterday and made a very fair point: we’re going to need more games. We already rotate through chess, spades, card golf and tunk but winter has a special talent for stretching time in ways no one fully understands until everyone is indoors together and asking what’s for dinner for the fourth time before 5 p.m.

The good news is the weather isn’t scheduled to hit until Saturday so you’ve got time. Yes, do the standard prep. Charge the batteries. Charge them again just to be sure. Make sure phones, backup chargers and flashlights are ready. Grab groceries, water and whatever snack you pretend you’re buying “just in case” but fully intend to eat by Friday night. You’ve seen all that advice already and it matters.

You’ll see plenty of predictions floating around between now and then. Media outlets will make their best guesses and weather graphics will get more dramatic by the hour but let’s be clear—we are not God and we can’t make any promises. For up-to-date, no-nonsense information, follow the National Weather Service and local emergency management. They will tell you what you actually need to know without the theatrics.

Once the serious prep is handled, don’t forget the part no one puts on the checklist: how to survive each other. When the days blur together and the couch becomes everyone’s assigned seating, a good deck of cards turns into conflict prevention. Dig out the board games you forgot you owned. Learn a new game now before boredom turns minor annoyances into federal cases. If you’re feeling especially ambitious, this might also be the weekend you finally clean out that closet nobody wants to touch. You know the one.

And while you’re preparing, here’s an unexpected suggestion: follow the Lexington ABC Store on Facebook. Not for booze but for laughs. Their social media presence is proof that even state-run agencies understand winter weather requires humor, self-awareness and the ability to laugh at times.

Winter weather will do what it does. Roads may ice. Plans may change. But a little preparation, a few games and a shared laugh can go a long way toward making a cold weekend feel warmer—and keeping everyone on speaking terms by the end of the storm.