Power Outage Sparks Creativity and Frustration

My house is currently on day three of the power outage that has hit our community. When the storm first rolled through and the lights began to flicker, I didn't think twice about it. Then, within minutes the house went black.  Again, I thought no big deal - the power will be back on in a very short time.  

I pretty much had this "no big deal - it will be back on in the next half hour" theory until yesterday morning, when I expected to awaken to a operating alarm clock and light, and instead awoke to the same old dark room. Okay, at this point, this whole "let's pretend we are camping" activity was getting old.  

My kids and I spent the first day actually enjoying a day being "unplugged". No fights over which cartoons to watch or how much Wii time was allowed. No pressure to check my emails. A late evening spent at the pool swimming to escape the heat and showering at a place other than home. We told stories and read books by flashlight and enjoyed not being sidetracked by the electronics.  

However, by the second day of this power outage, I started to feel a bit cranky and not so much fun. To-do's ran through my head. I have to do my banking online, but I have no Internet. I have to check my emails, I have no idea what is going on in the world! I have to take a shower, but we have no hot water. I have heaps of laundry, but no way of doing it. My dishwasher is full and I can not run it. Worst of all, I have my favorite TV shows that I enjoy watching each week that are not getting recorded because I have no DVR or TV.  

In all seriousness, it was really upsetting when I had to throw out two refridgerators and freezers full of food.  What a waste.  

Recently, I received word that we will not have power again until Saturday. That seems like an eternity, but we have our loaf of bread, peanut butter and jelly to sustain us through it!  Now, I just need a generator for the next storm and then, I will be prepared.