powerless...

A week ago yesterday, I drove east to TLC’s casa. I was going to stay two nights.

On Wednesday afternoon, as TLC went to pick up Little Leighton at school, My Sweet Hubby (MSH) called and said he’d just lost electricity. It was cold. Very, VERY COLD. For North Central Texas. At this time of year. The ice storm that had arrived there was not hitting TLC’s area—77.7 miles away. Weird.

When we talked at bedtime, it still wasn’t back on. He was layering many blankets on our bed. I felt tres sorry for him.

The next morning? Nothing. After lunch (this is now Thursday), MSH suggested I stay at TLC’s one more night. (Her Hubby was out of state for job training…so one more night with her and The Sweet Princesses was working out great for both TLC and me! I do NOT like to be cold. Ever. I love being with My Gals. Always.)

Friday morning? Nope. Not back on. I talked MSH into coming to TLC’s for a shower. Lunch. Warmth! He brought Buddy Boo Bear. BBB is quite afraid of thunder and heavy rain. The forecast for the day was calling for the possibility of both.

MSH (and BBB) had a lovely time with Us Four Gals! He headed home at 12:30. I decided to go on, home, too. At 3:00 p.m. Surely, I thought, SURELY it’d be back on by the time I got there. Or at least by Saturday morning. Right? Right?!?!?!?

When I arrived around 5:00? Yikes. No power. Our casa was still HUGELY cold. We went to bed at 7:00. It was dark. Extremely chilly. We had lots of blankets. Many, many lanterns and flashlights. We were fine. I slept almost nine (9!) hours. Unheard of for moi.

Saturday morn: Still. No. Power. Sigh. TLC needed her Dad to make a quick trip to her casa to figure out why Little Leighton’s smoke alarm was chirping. (She had spent over an hour the night before trying to figure out how to make it stop. To no avail.) I stayed with BBB. MSH left about 9:00. Was home by 3:00. TLC was all good to go. (It was only a battery—the ONLY kind of battery TLC did NOT have in their Battery Box on Friday night.)

We were forced to throw away a lot of freezer food. We have a large freezer over at our Barn. Two freezers in two fridges in our home. I sincerely had no idea how much frozen food we had. I’m going to say we lost anywhere between $600 and $800 worth of food. Sickening.

Saturday night? Same routine. In bed at 7:00. Read a fantastic book I neglect because I get drawn into The Insanity of FB/IG/PINTEREST/TWITTER every night. Slept another 8-9 hours!

Sunday morning, I headed back to TLC’s. I needed a shower and to wash my quite yucky hair. I planned to stay two more nights.

MSH called me about 3:00 p.m. to stay he could see linemen and several trucks down the road at one of the neighboring ranches. We all said a prayer. It came back on at 4:00 o’clock p.m.!

We were out 98 hours. Many people in our county were out much longer than we were.

I am not a camper. Never have been. Doubt I ever will be. My Sweet Hubby? The Quintessential Camper Man. Fisherman. Hunter. Outdoorsy Let's-Stay-In-A-Tent Kinda Guy. 98 hours of no electricity? TOUGH STUFF. Major TOUGH on even him.

We learned a lot of things during this experience:

 

1. We’re not going to keep as much freezer food from here on out. In fact, we’re not even plugging the Barn freezer back in. I still can’t even allow myself to think about all we pitched. Makes me nauseated.
2. Social Media? Helpful. Not helpful. Encouraging. DISCOURAGING. (Of course, the only way to charge our cellphones was running our vehicles for 30 minutes or more. A couple of times a day. So we were quite careful as to how long we stayed on them. I mostly checked three different FB pages—one being the electric company’s page.) People are mean. Downright mean. So many were extremely angry at the electric company. MSH and I were, too. To be honest. Seemed like they were completely unprepared for what happened and their hourly Pollyanna spin got old. Fast. BUT the linemen?  Our Heroes. Many came from miles and miles away. From other States! I will give you my unsolicited feelings: You can be angry, exhausted, scared, cold, discouraged, worried, fearful, and…angry. And STILL be completely grateful for every single person trying to get your electricity back on. All of those emotions can be simultaneous. They can. There is simply no need to get vicious. With anyone. About anything. Those that had electricity a few hours after it went off? Even two or three days later? They should have kept their opinions of those of us who were suffering much longer to themselves. Scroll on by. Just do it. And one other thing in terms of cellphones, televisions, iPads, computers: You can and SHOULD go without them occasionally. It'll be good for your heart, soul, mind, body and spirit. This is TRUTH.
3. I can have a meltdown. Or two. Or three. Periodically. Because I am human. But I am certain I can always, ALWAYS get through even the most challenging situations with prayer. Grace. Patience. Humor. Hope. Faith. And others willing to help me. (In times of trial...give yourself a break and lean on God, Jesus, family and friends for strength.)

It’s certainly not fun to be powerless. As with everything else in our lives—going through new ordeals (illnesses like cancer and heart attacks, illnesses in your children or grandchildren, lost jobs, dreams, etc.) should help us appreciate everyone we love and are blessed to have in our lives. We should never take for granted every convenience we're lucky to possess. In our homes... and elsewhere. Conveniences that provide us with comfort. Safety. Warmth. Peace.

Please take a moment to Thank Our God Almighty for ELECTRICITY. You’ll be glad you did. BELIEVE me.

Tuesdays with TLC? Soon, Friends. Soon. Winky. Wink.

HUGS,

ELC

p.s.: I got back home last night. Today I’ve been working on six loads of laundry. I admit it is UTTERLY CrAzY that two old people have this much laundry. Although, most of it is because it’s winter and we wear more clothes. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.