On Tuesday night there were some horribly strong winds. It knocked down lots of trees and took out power for almost the whole city of Anchorage. We thought it was pretty crazy, as Anchorage isn't a very windy city generally. But we made sure the cars were clear of big trees, and moved all the kids into our room to stay warmer. It's always sort of fun when it's just for a short while. We expected it to come back on sometime during the night. It didn't.
The next morning Kenny got up and went to work, and didn't come home so I assumed his office had power. Cool places always have a back-up plan. I wish we were cooler. (I may get my wish, because after this experience we've talked seriously about getting a generator.) It was cold, still windy, and rainy all day. My phone battery was about to die, our van was stuck in the garage, and on day 2 I didn't know what to feed my kids besides peanut butter sandwiches, pirate's booty and fruit snacks. They didn't complain. Honestly though, it wasn't that bad. It could've been in the dead of winter, and we could've been pushing a handcart across the plains...
(Whenever I feel like I'm going through an uncomfortable or hard time, I always compare my life to the pioneers and feel immediately better.)
Kenny came home during his lunch break and hefted open the garage door for me so we could get the van out. He also brought home the car charger so I had some contact with the world. That was actually pretty important because we had a combined mutual activity to cancel. Anyway, without describing every detail of the days, I will sum up by saying that we were out of power for about 42 hours. It was a super good reminder to me of all the things I take for granted every day. We live very comfortable lives, and I don't think I appreciate it enough. It was also an excellent way to evaluate what we are lacking as far as emergency preparedness.
The kids were just as excited as I was when it finally kicked on and we started dancing around singing "The power. The power. The power is on!" over and over. Then I said, "and you're all going back in your own beds tonight!!" Then they didn't think it was so cool anymore. I, for one, am excited to not have to shower and change diapers by light of a flashlight.
1 comment:
Haha, what a cute post! I'm sure it wasn't fun going through it. But it really does make you appreciate all of your blessings! We lost power in January for about 24 hours and it was COLD! Steven went to work and I put my last piece of fire wood on around lunch time and then took the ax to our wooden table outside. I felt like super woman!
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