Back to the Future

Well, Hurricane Ike did a number on western PA and left us without power for 52 hours. Let's just say that this life is not made for roughing it without electricity for long periods of time. This morning I danced around on an electric high as the dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, TV, refrigerator and microwave all buzzed around me. I soaked up the convenience of modern day living and my heart swelled with love for Penn Power.

During my experience with a husband, three kids, a dog, and football practice with no electricity I had time to reflect on lessons learned and make observations(especially since I was in bed at 9 pm every night!)

* My neighborhood was transformed on those days with no TV, kids were EVERYWHERE all at the same time. Big kids, little kids, babies, toddlers all ran amok while they actually PLAYED all day.

* My husband gets the award for "necessity is the mother of invention" award as he drove to the airport for a flight out of town with underwear over all his head rests in his car. They were in the dryer during the blackout and hadn't dried fully.

* I learned which neighbors had it in them to stick it out as each day brought more people bailing out to stay in hotels or buying generators.

* My friend taught me to always have a key someplace available to you if you don't have your key chain as she spent the night at a friend's house since she was locked out after returning home in a blackout. Her poor dog was locked in the house for 15 hours!!!

* My reluctance to shop regularly finally paid off as I watched neighbors toss hundreds of dollars of meat. I had just a little left over from what we could consume in a week and it fit nicely in a friend's freezer.

* The house looks cleaner in the dark!

* You can always find someone to take a frozen chicken.

* 1,000 candles will set off your smoke alarm just as the kids nod off.

* You can eat eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

* Olive Garden serves food too quickly if you're looking for someplace to hang out for awhile before you go back to your dark house.

* I'll take 52 hours without electricity before 10 feet of water in my house any day.

* If all the TV's and lights are left on when the power goes off, then the power will come back on sometime between 12 - 3 am and scare the crap out of you when they all come back on at once.