We are in the midst of one of Texas' infamous ice storms. At 6:00 last night, exactly when the forecasters predicted, the freezing rain started to fall. It continued all evening long as the temperatures continued to fall. By 10pm last night, school had been cancelled. Immediately I started making a list of all the things that I could get done today. We went to bed, without setting the weekday 6am alarm, looking forward to a productive day at home.
At 6:06am we were awakened by a huge "boom", a flash of light and the absence of power. The transformer blew. Twelve hours later, night is upon us, the temperatures are falling heading toward 18 degrees, and we still have no power. The estimated time of restoration is between 4:30am and 1pm tomorrow. My day off has not gone as I had hoped.
I had some grading to do; the papers were submitted online. Though I can get the documents on my phone, whose power I am trying to conserve, I can't print them nor can I post the actual grades. I have a writing project due Monday that is to be submitted with photographs. I can write like I'm doing here and submit through our mobile hotspot from my iPad, which right now has 26% power, but I can't get to the pictures, which are on my desktop. Those files were created before everything started going to The Cloud. Today's experience is definitely a good object lesson in support of using The Cloud.
I had hoped to do some online Christmas shopping too, but decided that that was not the best use of what limited electronics power we have.
Last but not least, I hoped that we might start decorating for Christmas. There is still a plastic pumpkin with leftover Halloween candy and a turkey centerpiece in the dining room. Nearly a week into Advent, I thought it might be time to remove these things and find the Advent wreath. That one candle would come in handy right now! Well, before any decorating can happen, I need to do some cleaning, namely vacuuming, unless we decide that a dog hair tree skirt is in vogue this year. I can't vacuum without power. Dusting, probably. Also, the garage, where the decorations spend the majority of their life, is very, very dark at the moment.
So what have we done today? Fortunately, we have a gas stove so we' were able to make a nice warm pot of oatmeal this morning. We also have a fireplace with gas logs. That is keeping the den and the kitchen plenty warm. I am so thankful that we added the gas logs in our renovation process! We would be much worse off right now without the fireplace.
After the oatmeal, we went back to bed for a while. That was the warmest place to be, especially when you add two adult bodies, a dog and a cat. There is a limit, however, to how long one can stay in bed when not sick.
I did venture outside and shoot some photos. Though the ice is wreaking havoc in many ways, it made for some beautiful photo opportunities. Ice formations are just incredible structures. And the interplay of light and these formations is absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I can't upload or edit any photos right now. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow. I am anxious to see today's images on the big computer screen.
Today has been a day to stop and reflect. My life, the normally activities of my everyday, has been completely disrupted today because of no power. Yet, how many people in this world live every day with no power? I have realized how dependent I am on my computer. I know I use it a lot, I just didn't realize exactly how much a part of everything i do it is, how immobilized I feel without it.
So now it is 6pm and dark outside - and inside. The fire is roaring and our one oil lamp is burning. There is nothing to do but think and enjoy the company of one another.
This day has been a wonderful exercise in waiting, waiting to do the things I want and need to do, waiting for the power to be restored. Waiting...the message of this Advent season. Today,a day when all the things I thought I was going to do were cancelled or impossible, has become an unexpected Advent retreat. For that, and for lessons learned, I give thanks.
