[This blog is about the power outage Southern California and Arizona experienced the summer of 2011.]
As I sat at my computer with Sadie sleeping on top of me I had a moment of panic when the screen turned dark, the computer sat silently and the fan behind me stopped working. I immediately thought someone had cut my power. I stood up, hands balled into fists, Sadie a burden as my senses went into overdrive. Someone was breaking into my house, what could I use to kill them? I looked around and didn't see a single weapon. My alarm system started to beep annoyingly. Okay, they killed my alarm system. I held on tightly to my phone prepared to call 911 and to fight for our lives. I put Sadie down and thankfully she continued to sleep. I stood quietly and listened for attackers. Why would they do this in the middle of the day? People are all around us. It doesn't make sense. Man I wish I had a knife or a police baton or something on me right now. Maybe there isn't anyone trying to break in. Maybe the power is out. I didn't hear anyone as I texted my neighbor asking her if her power was out. I was relieved to read her power was out too. Okay, I guess no one was trying to get into my house. Okay, good. The next several hours were spent in limbo waiting for my computer to turn on, for my phone to work, for the electricity to come back. As the sun started to disappear I prepared myself for the idea that there would be no electricity that night. By nightfall I had candles lit throughout the house. My neighbors and their kids and their new puppy were all on our property hanging out. The kids were running around, the men were drinking beers and the wives were laughing watching their families connect. By some miracle I had prepared a pot of soup in the crock pot and was pleased to have dinner to serve. I was hesitant to open the refrigerator to prevent any food from spoiling - the pot of soup and freshly grilled chicken were a perfect accompaniment to the candles glowing throughout the house. My parents drove over and hung out for a while. We all speculated on what happened and when the electricity would return. The peace within our home was beautiful. It was as if we were all awake in the middle of Shabbat when the lights turn off and we only have the light from the Shabbat candles illuminating our home. Everyone was forced to stop and relate to the people around them. After my parents left, the three of us walked up to my neighbor's house and we sat around the bonfire sharing stories and talking. We weren't sure when the electricity was going to return and none of us were in a rush to see the lights turn on. We all wanted the hush that settled on our hill to continue. We loved looking around our neighborhood and seeing only what the light of the moon touched. As nightfall transitioned to the late hours of the night we saw a hill across the freeway light up. With sad hearts we braced ourselves for the light to move from home to home bringing us all back into civilization. With a sigh Logan acknowledged he would have to go to work the next day and we all said our goodbyes - none of us wanting our break from reality to end.
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Meet the Blogger!
I'm a mom. A writer. A lover of good fantasy. A proponent of nursing when possible. A birth advocate. I am absolutely horrible at keeping my house clean or the dishes washed or the laundry done. I strongly believe in women having a positive birth. When we start to respect women's rights to birth the way they want, we can start to treat women as equal people in this world. Archives
February 2016
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