Last Saturday we were hit with an unexpected snow storm. What was supposed to be a couple inches of "wintry mix" turned into half a foot of heavy, wet snow. The poor trees were still full of leaves, and the weight of the heavy snow caused branches to bend, and then snap clean off - taking down power lines with them. Just before 2pm our lights flickered a few times, then went out completely. Little did we know that it would be over 72 hours later when the power would come back.
While this experience was definitely tough - and one that I hope not to repeat again - it made me extremely thankful for many things that I take for granted on a daily basis.
*Electricity - Do you realize how many times a day you turn on a light switch?! It's pretty depressing to walk into a dark house, knowing that it will stay dark all night. I had to complete all my "household tasks" during daylight hours, because I knew that as soon as the sun went down it would be nearly impossible to get things done. Laundry? No. Dishwasher? No. We really got back-to-basics with candles and firelight!
*Water - Luckily, we didn't lose water as a result of the storm. That would have really been bad; like, check into a hotel bad. We didn't have hot water though (water heater runs on electricity), and a cold shower just isn't as tempting as a warm one.
*Heat - It was cold. It was painful getting dressed in the morning. I wore my robe around the house to stay warm. Our gas fireplace was our saving grace - we had it on all day, and it really did put out quite a bit of heat. We all hung out in the living room huddled around the fire for 3 days.
*Internet/tv/entertainment - The kids were pretty much un-fazed by the experience, except in that they kept asking "Can we watch a show?" - to which I would reply "We still don't have power, so that means we can't turn on the tv, remember?!" We were able to charge up the laptops, phones, and iPod to provide some screen-entertainment. I kept wanting to watch the news about the storm, or look up things online...only to remember I couldn't.
*Refridgeration - It is so nice to be able to open your fridge and pour a nice COLD glass of orange juice in the morning. (or have some ice cream in the evening) I ended up throwing most everything away, since I'm pretty sure it was not so good after 3 days. Nice chance to deep clean my fridge and freezer!
*Friends - Some dear friends had us over for dinner and device-charging one night, and we commiserated with our other friends who also were out of power. It made the days go by a little faster!
Jiffy Pop by the fire
What we wore around the house to keep warm
Lincoln LOVES the snow
