Powerless 4th

We drove back from our amazing but exhausting Florida vacation to news of widespread power outages in Baltimore. While we were on the road we contacted neighbors and confirmed that our power was definitely out. We got home Sunday evening to heat and humidity and a dark house. I got a text from friends saying that their power was back and inviting anyone over who needed dinner or AC. We definitely needed both so we brought over some meat from our freezer and treats that were still mostly frozen and took them up on their offer. It was a wonderful evening hanging out with their family and Megan stayed to spend the night with her friend. The rest of us went home to the dark house and after having driven for 2 days we were ready for bed. We used our flashlights and dug through suitcases. It was hot so Jim headed right to the basement but the rest of us attempted to sleep in our beds. It wasn't long before all of us, except for Emma, wound up on the basement floor.

It is always an adjustment coming home from vacation and even more so when none of the normal routines can get back on track. On Monday morning I had to go to work and looked forward to the AC. Jim had the day off and made arrangements to borrow Mary and Ed's generator. They lost power too but only for a 36 hours. The girls spent the day in the AC at Becky's so it wasn't bad. The other side of our street got power back before we got home form vacation but we were still out a day later. It didn't look very promising in getting it back soon either. A number of streets were blocked with large trees including the main road 2 blocks from us. A good number of the traffic signals were out as well as local restaurants and stores, but we found a local pizza place with power so we went there for dinner.

Jim set up the refrigerator and freezer to be powered by the generator as well as chargers for our phones and a few fans. We made due and settled into the basement for sleeping. By Tuesday morning the excitment of the adventure was waning. I had the Shumakers and our girls for the day and we decided to get out of the stuffy house and go to the pool. That worked well but we had to return for nap time. I was hot and cranky and so were all of the kids. We were so blessed to receive an invitation to cool off and have dinner at another friend's house. That night sleeping was much harder because there was no breeze and the temps didn't get lower overnight. We all woke up tired Wednesday morning and still with no sign of power.

Wednesday was the fourth of July and it just didn't feel like a holiday. Jim and I were both not sleeping well and hot and cranky and frustrated with the lack of power. The power company didn't have an estimate of when we would get power back so I made the decision that it was time to go to the laundromat.  I had done some laundry while on vacation but it had piled up to 6 loads of clothes. We decided that we would skip the 4th of July parade. Sitting in the heat of the day on the side of the road was just completely unappealing. The girls were disappointed but we were still going to a cookout with the extended family and we would see the fireworks. We enjoyed the cookout and the girls had a blast playing with cousins, launching water bottle rockets and doing sparklers. After an impressive firework display we headed back to the still dark house. Thursday also started to the rumble of the generator and I took the kids to the pool for the day. Finally that evening power came back on. It took both Jim and I a few days to shed the deep weary feeling the heat had inflicted. 6 days of no electricity in 100 degree heat was definitely over our tolerance level. It is wonderful to get back to the normal daily grind with all of our electronic luxuries.