In this relatively snowless winter, we suppose it makes sense that this year’s inversion of our seasonal expectations might itself get inverted with a major snowstorm at about the time when we normally expect a January thaw. Mild winters are not the ones we remember in New England, but they confer blessings on those of us attached to daily routines, and they keep the insurance adjustors at bay. They offer the sort of devalued benefits we take for granted without any special note or accounting. But what of the great disruptions that come sweeping across the Midwest and up the coast setting off blizzard alarms and team coverage in weather centers and newsrooms everywhere? Is there some benefit to the sudden paralyzing complication of a snowstorm beyond the adrenalin buzz?

It is easy to dismiss the media hype of big storms with an eye roll and a jaded shrug, especially when it turns out to be a bit overblown, as it was for western Connecticut this week. Because of our robust and hair-trigger information systems, however, most of us were not stranded at airports or at the side of the road this week. We were at home, with family, with a schedule cleared of obligation and suddenly open to opportunity — to sleep in, to linger in the kitchen with a second cup of coffee, to engage with kids who temporarily and remarkably have nothing else to do, to get outside to work or play with shovels or sleds, and to generally restore a bit of spaciousness and perspective in the cramped confines of overbooked lives.

This welcome perspective, arising in this odd midweek January un-thaw, also gives us the benefit of appreciation for all those responsible for a safe day at home. From the highway crews and the prepositioned tree removal and utility teams to the first responders on alert in emergency centers and even the pumped up media weather warriors, this impressive array of readiness employed expertise, information, and ok, maybe a little hyperbole, to keep us out of harm’s way with remarkable success. (The state reported just 15 motor vehicle accidents during the storm, none with life-threatening injuries.)

Snowstorms are a great disruption and inconvenience. And sometimes they are exactly what we need.