NO POWER

Yes there were some big storms in the area last Wednesday night. These storms were only the beginning of our family's adventure as the electricity went off at 7 PM Wednesday night. I apologize to anyone who has been trying to get in touch with us over the phone or email. Communication was just about non-existent for quite some time. Our power did not come back on until Friday around 3:30 PM!!!

We weren't even here to see it kick back on. We had a camping trip planned for the weekend. So when the power went off Wednesday night it made packing for camping a bit difficult. I kept thinking it would come back on soon, but time stretched on and on until I finally started making other plans. I had to do laundry at a friend's house (thanks Greta!) to get clean clothes to pack for our trip. We had to bathe everyone at another friend's house Thursday night (thanks Karen!) since we preferred to begin our camping trip somewhat clean.

A little side note related to bathing...tankless hot water heaters are awesome except for if the power is out. Since they do not store any hot water, no electricity means no hot water can be created. We also could not wash dishes in preparation for leaving for the weekend.

As the evening rolled around each night, we resorted to brushing teeth and putting the kids to bed by flashlight. After we got them to bed and the house was pitch black at 8:30, there wasn't much for Cody and I to do. Packing for the trip was pretty much impossible once the sun went down. I tried reading by flashlight. At least the evenings were quiet, a time without a constant child's voice begging for the hundredth time to watch t.v. or play computer. And thankfully, our house stayed cool despite no A/C and warm temps outside. I was very pleased about that! We did have to throw away nearly everything from our freezer and refrigerator Friday morning. We were leaving for camping and had no idea when the power would return. Most things were already ruined anyway.

It's true that things are never truly appreciated until they are gone, and electricity is no exception. Raising and lowering the garage door by hand was not much fun. I turned on the light switches in dark rooms over and over out of habit, as each time the realization of the power outage rolled over me a few seconds too late. It was also frustrating not knowing when everything would return to normal. I think I could handle it better if I had a set time that I knew the power would return. Instead I lived in hopeful expectation, and at times dull frustration.

The good news is that we did go on our camping trip (which was so much fun and will be posted about later.) And when we returned, the power was back on, including a half dozen random lights throughout the house.