A week ago, I was in a meeting for Children's Ministry when Ben told me I should go to the store and fill up my car with gas. My friends at the meeting agreed and from that moment on, my routine flew out the window. We endured a crazy Walmart run. If you didn't know, I'm a planner...and it was driving me nuts that I couldn't plan this. I walked through Walmart not sure what to buy. Would I be able to cook? Did we have enough batteries? Would we need more water? I couldn't even squeeze myself in the canned food isle. In the middle of Walmart, my friend Abby called and asked if they could come stay with us...sure! Now to plan for guests...
I spent the rest of the day baking, baking, baking so our pantry would be stocked. Then I rushed to arrange the house for guests and safety.
Friday, I did all the laundry and dishes I could. I cooked our last hot meal and we spent as much time as we could outside, while it wasn't raining. The stress of waiting for the storm was starting to hit me.
Thankfully the kids didn't notice the stress and had a fun day.
You know the perfect time to fly a kite?
Right before a hurricane!
And wearing a swimsuit only makes it more fun.
Eli took the outside time to learn how to go down the slide by himself. This kid needs a little more healthy fear in him...Alison has plenty she could spare him.
We anticipated the storm to hit Saturday evening. I planned to get up that morning, brew some coffee, take a hot shower, dry my hair and do one last load of laundry. The moment I got up the power went out...did I mention I really like plans?
Well, my plans were flying out the window as fast as the wind was blowing.
But then my hero stepped in and saved me.
Ben ordered a generator off Amazon Thursday and had it overnighted to our house. Knowing me well, he came home from work and said, "I ordered a generator...I'm not telling you how much it cost and we'll work on budgeting it out later...and we can always return it." Well, praise the LORD for that generator and my brilliant husband. We were able to run the refrigerator, one light and one fan. I was so thankful we were able to keep our food and the generator was well worth every penny. Ben kept the generator running 24 hours a day, evening getting up in the middle of the night to refill it with gas. My hero took care of us above and beyond well. He even got the mail in the middle of the storm.
The storm itself was not as bad as I anticipated. I envisioned us all huddled in the hallway during the worst of the storm. I feared trees crashing into our house and windows breaking. But it was just a strong storm that lasted a really long time.
It was really hot in the house. Abby and I tried our best to entertain the kids by the fan, but there's only so many activities you can do in a small space. As I was catching up on laundry I had to laugh...I found myself folding all of Ben's work out clothes, all my comfy clothes and a few pairs of Alison's underpants. For the last 4 days, Ben's been hard at work, I've been in survival mode and the kids have been naked.
Church was cancelled Sunday and we spent the day cleaning up our yard. Ben spent a good part of the day in search for a chain saw to cut up the large fallen branches. Sounds easy, but most stores didn't have power either. Our yard has by far the most trees in the neighborhood. So while everyone else had a small, quaint pile of sticks at the end of their driveway, we had several feet of large limbs lining our yard...our neighbors have named our house 'Fort Shear'.
Monday we still didn't have power and Abby left to a house that never lost it. We worked on the yard some more and Ben grilled hamburgers for dinner. Hot food never tasted so good. Some sweet friends just got their power back and invited us over so we could shower. It was nice to cool off, clean up and have a little distraction from the chaos of our house.
By Tuesday morning I couldn't take it any longer. I loaded up the kids and we headed to the Children's Museum. We needed to get out of the house!
Their favorite spot was the pet store. I was surprised, but since the trip we've set up our own pet store in the play room.
Our power finally returned Tuesday evening. I feel like my brain left with the power and is slowly returning. I was shocked how long it took me to think through how to do things without electricity.
I went to the Y Wednesday to teach my normal 'Power Cut' class. They still didn't have power, but for some reason were still open. There were only a few people there and the floor was soaking wet, causing a foul order. A few girls still wanted to lift weights in the dark, so I turned on a portable ipod player and we did what we could in the damp fitness center.
It was an experience I won't forget...and I'm glad it's all over.
2 comments:
I am soooo glad Ben got the generator. That made your awful situation not quite so intolerable.
So glad you guys are alright! Ben is a smart man and now you'll be prepared for any future storms...but hopefully there won't be any!
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