Roughing It

I am not a "roughing it" kind of girl.  I never went to sleep away camp as a kid. I did not grow up with a down-filled sleeping bag.  Never owned a canteen.  Can barely toast a marshmallow over an open flame for s'mores.  I'm just not that kind of girl.  My idea of roughing it is a 4 star hotel.  Take it or leave it, it's who I am.

So you can imagine my dismay this past week when a freak snow storm took out all the power in our town and the surrounding areas.  On Saturday at 3:30, our power officially went out.  It had flickered.  I had prayed, "Please God, I'll do anything, just keep the power on."  But the man or woman upstairs had bigger plans.

I knew it was going to be a bad one when hour by hour the snow kept piling up on our table on the deck.  24 hours and 12 inches later, the snow had dissipated and with the peak of sun on the horizon, we assessed the damage.  A tree fell in the front and took all the power lines on the house with it.  Another giant limb has nearly demolished the trampoline.  And several more fell within inches of the playset.  Other than that, we were left fairly unscathed.  That is, until the temperature really started dropping in the house.

Now let me just say, I don't mind the no electricity thing, when it's warm outside, but the cold, snow and ice were another thing all together.  Mr. X immediately got a fire going in the  fireplace in the living room.  We rearranged furniture, pulled all the down comforters out of the closets and scrambled to find flashlights, batteries and candles.  Oh, and I did mention that my mother-in-law, B, was here visiting??  Thank goodness she is such a trooper.  Much better than me in these situations for sure.  But by Monday we had to send her on her way into the nice, warm, toasty City. I would have switched places with her in a heartbeat.

By day 3, I was really starting to lose it.  I burst into tears.  I yelled at Mr. X about why we don't have a generator like most families in this town.  He kept saying, "It's not that bad."  To which I wanted to punch him in the face.  "It IS that bad!" I cried, "why can't you understand that?"  I made him stay home from work.  What if the fire went out in the fireplace and I couldn't get it started again???  We might all die of hypothermia!  "Veganmama," Mr. X said, "It's 55 degrees outside." Yes, but it's only 46 degrees in the house.

Day broke on day 4 of the Great October Snowapoluzza and I was really in a funk.  I had taken a shower at the YMCA (roughing it BIG time for me!) so at least I didn't stink.  My friend, J, very graciously had us over to warm up and do some laundry.  It was nice to be in a warm house for a few hours.  And when we got home, the electric company truck was in front of my house reattaching the wires that had been ripped down by the tree.  A big, warm, shining ball of light had been sent from the heavens to my small street in Anytown.  Could it be true, was heat on the way?  I ran up the the guys working on my house, "Oh thank you, thank you," I gushed.  They laughed realizing that this suburban mom was about to lose her shit at any minute if she didn't get some heat.

A half hour later, my house suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree!  I screamed, Primo and Segundo did a dance, my dogs barked at the commotion.  My mood instantly brightened.  We had survived the storm.  And in less than 24 hours later, like childbirth, I have already forgotten the pain.

But don't be fooled, I am already on the electrician's waiting list for a generator.  :-)

Peace and love.