Tuesday 30 October 2012

Blessed, Blessed, Blessed

All right, let me give you the magic formula for FINALLY not being the ones with a prolonged power outage after a storm.  First, fill up your generator, then go fill up the gas can again so you have extra fuel.  Then, clean out the garage so that you can park both of your cars in it for the first time in over two years.  Then clean out the gutters and rake the yard- put all the outdoor toys away properly and bungee the trash cans to the fence.  Inside, wash every single piece of clothing in the house, run the dishwasher frequently so that all dishes are clean, cook a roast in the slow cooker so you have decent food, grocery shop, get all the necessary supplies.  Refill every possible flashlight with fresh batteries and gather about 30 candles.  Then, during the storm, get the generator into position with all extension cords at the ready.  Finally, have the kids' clothing for several days laid out, extra blankets on the beds, and a candle lit so that WHEN the power goes out it won't be pitch black in the house.  If you do all of this, apparently you will wake up in the morning, turn on your lamp, and go about your business.  If only we had known this before.

We are so so lucky that we didn't lose power during Sandy.  My heart just aches knowing what so many friends in New Jersey and New York must be going through.  New Jersey is my home and seeing pictures of the shore the past few days has made me feel sick to my stomach.  My prayers go out to all those affected.

Jack was "prepped" for the storm as well- I have had a special flashlight for him to carry on Halloween night and he had it with him all evening and night yesterday.  When he talked to grammy about the storm on Saturday he matter of factly mentioned that we wouldn't have power.  All day yesterday he kept telling John, "just start the generator daddy".  He knows the drill.  Nathan was thrilled with the wind- he is fascinated by trees, sticks and leaves in the first place- watching them blow all around was a treat for him, even if mommy was feeling just a bit more anxiety than fascination.  One downside- the boys slept until about 1am last night and then were up- the wind was too noisy I think.  Props to daddy for watching the boys during my work day the past two days- one of the "benefits" of telecommuting- it can be completely perilous outside, all forms of business and government can be closed, yet lucky me, I can still work. In fact, if my power goes out, I have to take vacation time.  No bitterness there. 

As shallow as it is, I am still hoping for trick or treat tomorrow night.  Jack asked to be Wall-E again this year, and because I was bored with that in general, I have been working very hard to "jazz up" his previous commercially produced costume.  I am excited to see him all dressed up.  In contrast, I will be lucky if I get a costume on Natey for 5 minutes- he hates that stuff.  I wisely bought a costume that involved nothing more than a hat and a cape- we'll see how that goes. 

I am feeling very blessed to be sitting in a warm, bright house tonight.  I hope that everyone has their power restored quickly- if not, come on over- we have LOTS of food.  Yes, I was one of those crazy people who was getting ready for the apocalypse.  In my defense, I just finished reading the book "The Things That Keep Us Here".  It was amazing, but if you have a tendency to catastrophize, I wouldn't recommend it :)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Things-That-Keep-Here/dp/0440246040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351638565&sr=8-1&keywords=the+things+that+keep+us+here

It's a page turner, but also a major anxiety provoker.  Stay safe everyone.

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