I love thunderstorms. They begin quickly and end just as fast. I am awed by their beauty and power. They also make me think--especially when a hot one rolls through and knocks out the electricity!
That's what happened last Sunday about 11 PM. Wind blew, rain pelted down, lightning crackled and flashed, thunder boomed, and the power which runs our home ceased. There is nothing in the world so dark or quiet, even in the middle of a thunderstorm, as our home at night without power. It is unnerving. Once the light show ended I had a hard time sleeping. The alarm clock was off, what if we overslept? The pump in the well would not run, what if I needed to use the bathroom? When it was time to get up and prepare for work (which we do before dawn) did I have the camp stove where it belonged? What about the flashlight? I would doze for a little, then awake and wonder: Do we have power yet? No, not yet.
Our utility company is really very good. They work hard under sometimes terrible conditions to keep the lights on in our area. And they came through again, restoring the juice just about the time I had to get things ready for the day ahead. But I was exhausted, and at the early hour of 9:30 AM I had to take a nap. After that I was able to function, barely.
That evening it happened again. Light one second, dark the next. There wasn't even a storm (at least, not one we could see from our house) to explain it. Again the house was dark and quiet, but I was so tired that I slept anyway. When the battery-powered alarm went off, we were still in the dark. I set up the camp stove, made coffee by flashlight with water from a gallon jug, and waited. At about 4:20 the nightlights blinked, but it didn't last. An hour later, right after my husband left for work, the lights came on! Yay! .....Ten minutes later they were gone again. Boo! Finally, after I had left for my job, the power was restored. What a relief!
So I wonder what I have wondered before: If we had no electricity for a long time, what would we do? We have food in the freezer, would it spoil? How could that be prevented? What would we do about hauling water?
I don't really have a lot of answers. I believe I will have to learn how to can meat, and actually DO it. A generator might be an option: we have discussed getting one before, but so far have not. Our well is a relatively shallow one, we might be able to rig a pulley system and get water with a rope and bucket. But the answer which would be the best, and is the hardest to do, is to overcome my habit of believing that all will be well, and to quit trusting that what has always been will continue to be. Change sometimes happens quickly. Just watch a thunderstorm.
