Who's Got the Power? We Do!!!

My B.B. alarm sounded at 5:30am. I leaped from bed and quickly disabled it. In almost complete darkness I pulled my t-shirt over my head and fumbled my way into the bathroom where I brushed my teeth almost entirely by feel. Sadly, our power was still out – day three. 

Because of our incredibly awesome neighbor Kenny, our fridge and freezer were powered up via generator. I went ahead and prepped a pot of coffee plugging the coffee maker into the three-way outlet at the end of the extension cord. After going without Monday morning, I was very much looking forward to my favorite morning creature comfort. 

After a round of exercises I headed out the door with Ykraps. I felt pretty darn good after nearly 8 full hours of sleep. As I walked by the large dirt covered areas of my lawn I was immediately reminded of my goal to get it seeded & fertilized after work tonight. 

Back at home I poured coffee for me & Mindy. Mindy was up making our bed getting ready to jump in the shower. She was certain she’d have school since she didn’t receive a call otherwise. Jacob (Hilliard), we already knew, would be out for yet another day. Mindy  was simply happy and excited to have fresh hot coffee. 

I spent a little more time meditating than usual given that there was no PC time without power. That I viewed as a good thing. I left for a run a little before 6:30am.I wore long running pants and a regular long-sleeved wicking shirt. I was quite comfortable. I ran four miles. I noticed most houses in the subdivision had power where we still did not. In fact, I would say 90% of the division was powered up. I’ve known for some time that our house/street was fed from a different grid. This time it wasn’t playing out in our favor. 

I could hear generators running around every turn. I was hopeful (wishing) that our power would be on upon my return but it wasn’t. We were still out. Mindy had fruit at my place setting – about all she could prep. I went ahead and woofed down a pop-tart too. I was hungry. Mindy and the children left around 7:35am. Jacob was being delivered to Grandma Sharon’s since his school was canceled. Bella had kindergarten. 

I showered and left for work around 8:00am. I drove the Trooper since I hoped to pick-up grass seed and fertilizer at lunch. Work went much smoother than Monday. It didn’t hurt that my peer was back. I was able to take my lunch a little after 1pm. I drove to Lowe’s where I bought seed and fertilizer. On my way back, I stopped at Home Depot to get two outdoor light sockets for the two broken uplighting fixtures. I picked up a couple new spot lightbulbs too. 

I was back at work by 2:10pm. After enjoying my packed lunch I focused on several key work related issues. I left for home at 5:30pm. As I exited the parking lot I dialed up Minelli’s and ordered a pizza for pick-up. Still no power at home.  On my way home I stopped at Target to pick-up an anniversary card for Mindy. We met three years ago, tomorrow (September 17) at Bob’s block party.  

I was really hungry. I ate two pieces of pizza on my way home from Minelli’s, and it’s a very short drive. Mindy & both kids were down at the neighbors when I arrived home. It wasn’t long, however, before they were all back and eating pizza. Bella complained just a little about the toppings I chose. They were the same toppings we always get (pep, extra-cheese, and hot pepper rings).  We ate all but four pieces. Mindy was hungry! 

Mindy offered to help me with the grass seed after dinner. I accepted her offer. We grabbed the spreader, fertilizer, seed, and rake and headed out front. The kids took off to play with the neighbors. Carl came over just after we got started seeding. While I operated the spreader, Mindy lightly raked the seed into the loose layer of top soil. Carl warned once more that we should’ve put sod on the steepest part of the slope, thinking it will run off with the first heavy rain. But I countered with a weather forecast that calls for 70’s and sunshine for the next ten days. I’ll be in control of the watering. We should be well into new grass before the next appreciable rain. Still, I understood his point. 

Carl’s wife eventually made her way over to invite him along on her evening walk. He declined. I asked Mindy if she cared to walk with her while I finished. She decided to walk. Carl and I chatted the entire time they were gone. During that same time period, several neighbors walked by talking about the top news story – the power outage. AEP was quoted as saying back on by next Sunday at 9pm. Ouch! The power being off is no doubt bringing people closer together. More folks than ever are out walking since there was nothing else for them to do. In our particular case, it was altering our lifestyle very little, as we don’t typically watch TV as part of our evening routine. 

Mindy was back from her walk about thirty minutes later. I put the tools away while Mindy whisked the kids inside for showers by flashlight. By the time I headed in Mindy had candles lit. I poured myself a Barley’s IPA and kicked back on the sofa. After tucking in the kids we both returned downstairs and sat at the island talking. We plugged an indoor uplight into the generator feed to give off a little light beyond candles. Suddenly, while we were chatting, the power came back on. Just like that we were thrust back into normalcy. I threw open the back door and let out a big ol’ hootie-who. 

For the next fifteen minutes we got the clocks set, the fridge and freezer plugged back into house current, the proper lights lit, and the wrong ones turned off. I also helped Kenny get his extension cords rolled up and organized after he shut down the generator. It was exciting to have our power back. It’s something we won’t take for granted for a short time. It was inconvenient being without power. You just don’t think about how dependent we’ve become on power for all aspects of our life. Go three days without any (power that is) and your thoughts will change – guaranteed! 

I got the CATV and TV set-up. We watched an episode and one half of Family Guy. I laughed my ass off. We headed for bed just before 10pm. Mindy wanted some undivided attention.