The satellite went out around 9:30. Right in the middle of a great show on television.
The power went out shortly after. Right in the middle of an email.
And there it was.
Complete and utter cold and darkness.
And the ice rain pelting down upon the roof.
The ice storm warnings had begun.
I set up flashlights around the house. Pointing at the ceiling to give some semblance of light.
There was nothing else I could do.
To have no electricity, when we take it so much for granted every day, is a real eye opener.
To not be able to even read, is incredulous.
And then, the branches started breaking.
They sounded like firecrackers in the distance.
I prayed that none would hurt the house.
We were fortunate in that the only pine tree that fell grazed the side of an eavestrough.
So fortunate.
The night was long. I couldn’t tell the time by the bedside clock.
By the time dawn broke, we were still without power, but we could see.
We kept the fridge and freezer doors closed because we didn’t know how much longer they would be without electricity.
We had only so many flushes before our toilets stopped.
We had running tap water, thanks to being on a well, however, we couldn’t shower lest we ran out of hot water.
The garage doors had to be manually opened and closed.
First World Problems, for sure.
Finally, the power came back on.
29 hours later.
29 LONG hours later.
But only 29 hours later.
So many parts of the world have no electricity at all.
No alarm clocks. No night lights. No hot water tanks. No internet. No tv.
We are so blessed that we even have these problems.
Do we appreciate it?
I hope so.
And after 29 hours without these first world amenities – I am more grateful than ever to have them.