The Storm

When a high winds storm knocked our power out on Friday night, there were some interesting things missing from our daily life.

No TV. Oh my. You would think my kids were totally deprived of life. I could unplug the set, carry the box out to the trash heap and not miss a it at all. The kids, on the other hand, realized there could also be no Wii games, so what in the world would they do now?

Everyone was asleep on the livingroom floor by 9 pm. And is wasn't even dark outside yet. There was definately a stuffiness in the house, but the light glow of candles kept it cozy and peaceful. They slept all night long, which is not typical at our house. I missed the hum of the fan, and my comfy waterbed upstairs. I was afraid if they all fell asleep on the floor and woke to me missing from the couch there would be panic from the little ones, so I continued to fitfully sleep beside them. Mike missed the airconditioning more than I did. I was just so aware of all the sounds, and lack of sounds, that I am accustomed to at night time.

Kids who normally have to be urged to shower were suddenly distraught over the fact that they could NOT shower. The ones who are typically forced to brush teeth were now crying that they could not now.

The ones who delve into the refridgerator numerous times an hour for a snack thought they were near death when we told them they had to open the door sparingly to make our ice last through the undetermined amount of days that we may be without power. We had traveled about 25 miles to get $20 worth of ice, so it became our most precious commodity this weekend.

I missed the ease of morning coffee. A couple of times I reached for my cup with coffee pot in the other hand, just to realize I was on a fruitless journey for now. Or the kids wanting lunch, and thinking we couldn't heat the leftover spaghetti on Saturday because our microwave was useless without power. Gee, it's then that I realized my hubby is a smart guy. He fired up the gas stove, and they had their lunch!!

We are campers, so going without the shower meant throwing on a cap. Surely the power would be back before bedtime, eh? By evening, we had grilled burgers outside, filled our tummies for the night, and glanced at the couch for another restless sleep. My waterbed had now grown too cool to sleep on, even if I could convince the little ones to go to their beds in the complete darkness that was falling.

Smart husband struck again!! He called a campground 7 minutes away, we hastily packed the kids and jammies, threw together a few nighttime necessities and pulled out of our driveway. Oh the excitment of a spontaneous trip!

And then the power returned to our home. What?? Do we cancel the trip now? Do we waste all this excitment and go back home to a cooling house, normal showers and TV???

We got to the campground moments later, set up in thirty minutes or less, and let the kids run around until darkness solidified. It was nearly midnight before all was calm and quiet, but we were experiencing a quick trip that held the promise of an exciting fathers day weekend.

Being without power seems easier when we were roughing it in a tent years ago. Now that we have the 30 foot travel trailer, why suffer at home when we can float into a powered facility and enjoy most of the comforts of home away from home? We had a wonderful day with our oldest daughter and her husband joining us for a cookout and swim, and last night the kids were all back on normal sleep schedules, ready to start today bright and early.

Hubby had an early morning meeting at work, so the kids and I ate packaged cinnamon rolls at the picnic table. We will start packing up to return home today, another camping memory in our minds.

The Storm that felt annoying, even devastating to some in our area, was over. Many of our friends are still without power today. We were able to share our home with a friend even in our absence. But today we will be back and thankful for all the comforts of home.

I hope we have learned a bit of something from our experience. Like, we can live without a TV and have fun playing....and, morning coffee and warm showers are not everything.

But they sure are nice!