Solved THAT mystery

I awoke in darkness, heat and gravity pressing me into my mattress. A glow past my feet was the only light source I could initially see. My vision was blurry, and my head still ached a bit. I squinted, and made out a menu screen listing episodes on Superman: the Animated Series, Volume 2. Memory slowly returned. I'd been watching a DVD, one of many purchased during an unprecedented spree earlier in the week, and must have drifted off. The sun had set, but what time was it? I still found movement difficult and my body disagreeable, but I managed to stretch my left leg, my toe straining in darkness to reach the red glow of my computer's mouse on the nearby table. I managed to nudge it enough to move the arrow from the DVD screen to the top bar, revealing the hidden clock. 4:45. Fifteen minutes remained to get dressed and get to church.

Groggy, I shambled out into the hallway. In the kitchen I could see my mother's winter coat draped across a chair, and knew she’d come home from her day’s errands and was now almost ready to leave. Beyond, in the dining room, my dad still hovered over the same jigsaw puzzle he'd been at since nine o'clock this morning. Shaving proved unpleasant, as the vibration of the electric razor awoke a fading headache. I heard footsteps outside the bathroom, and from the kitchen my mom called out that she was leaving, and that I'd better be ready. After brushing my teeth and splashing some water on my face, I was a bit more alert. I quickly cleaned up and got dressed, bundling up to head out into the cold night.

Driving to church, I mentioned that I was exhausted, and that two days in a row I'd forgotten to take my multivitamin. “That shouldn't matter,” she said. “And besides, you're young. Why are you so tired? Your father and I are old; we have an excuse. What did you have to eat today?”

“Well, I had a bowl of soup before I--”

“With a package of crackers?”

“I like crackers...”

“You don't need to eat a whole package of them, though. That’s how you get fat. When did you have the soup?”

“Around three. I was cold from the snow.”

“That's all you did today?”

“I thought some of it might have thawed around 11:30, but it was still pretty solid. I got a heavier shovel from dad though, and after the sun was hitting the driveway for a while, I was able to pry up full sheets of ice in places. I took a break at 1 to return a movie to the post office, then came back. The sun went behind some clouds and everything started to freeze again.”

“Maybe we need to get one of those icepicks.”

“I think that would mess up the asphalt. Anyway, I was using the thicker shovel to break the ice in a similar fashion, slamming it so hard the vibrations traveled up my arms and into my skull. Eventually, the shovel did nothing and the ice, three inches thick in some areas, proved stronger than metal. I got the entrance of the driveway cleared at least, but there's still that big patch behind your car.”

“Daddy didn't come out to help?”

“No, I was surprised! I think that jigsaw puzzle is a good thing. That's what we have to do; keep him distracted.”

“You know, he did some shoveling yesterday. He told me not to tell you.”

“I noticed when I came home from work that the top half of the driveway was clear. It was kind of hard to miss. I'm glad he left the rest for me, but I had to give up by around 2:30. Maybe tomorrow more will thaw out. Hey, I wonder if that's why I had a headache and fell asleep this afternoon? Do you think working in the cold and slamming that shovel against the ice for a few hours could have caused that?”

“Maybe...”