created havoc in my hood...Ya, in the safe state of Ohio, we got whip lashed by the hurricane. And as usual, our neighborhood got hit hard with the wind and driving rain, resulting in major power outages and inconvenience. Of course, I am grateful for several things as a result. My son had the fore-sight to buy gas and power up a generator that we saved our food and the neighbors with. That we had recently bought candles, fire starters and chopped wood so that we went on survival mode as soon as it passed and left us in the dark.And I didn't want to run the generator, unless we shared our power with our neighbors which we did. The biggest concern was for the 90 year old couple that lives on our corner. They refused to take shelter, with a daughter in another city (though I got the wife to leave for one day) and they only have electric which means no cooking, no heat, no hot water...etc. We adopted them for the week, and provided all but the central heat, relying on their wood fireplace. We saved some of their food and certainly checked on them frequently. (We got power back after 5 days, but some still remain waiting...)
Living without TV and watching the news was hard on me, we looked at snippets on a computer using a hot spot on my I Phone, but it wasn't the same. Being relatively unplugged caused stress at first that eventually turned to calm, and boredom. I was able to scrapbook two years worth of photos in the daylight hours, and found myself interacting more with my family. Sometimes that was stressful too, the teenager went to several movies, and friends houses with power, giving us some relief, but with no work or school, and the ability to do any work, I found myself snacking a lot. 5 days without, does not compare to the East Coast doing without everything...our hearts go out to them. I know it feels like a luxury to crank up the heat and lights and waste away the time online again. Maybe we will be more grateful...or to take it less for granted.
Scrap booking took me down memory lane a lot this past week. Seems like just yesterday my daughter was in braces and ponytails and having hoards of kids over for every occasion. (She is turning 16 in a few weeks) Dating just one boy exclusively has cut down a bit on the traffic, instead I am driving back and forth between their two cities since neither is licensed to drive. Two years from now, will bring a whole lot of changes I am not sure I am ready for. College and independence...it will be very quiet with just us, a dog and 3 cats.
Sandy, the storm has caused more than damage, an awareness of the awesomeness of nature and the God that created it. And for a sense of community and sharing that we get too busy for in our every day lives. Maybe it is a reminder to reach out and literally touch someone, being mindful that we are meant to...all along. Any stories or thoughts, post here. I'll put up what I have been into, now that power has been restored, stay tuned!
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