Life Without Power

I just spent two hours reminding myself that we need new batteries for all our flashlights. And realizing that I'm a bit too hooked on TV and the Internet. You see, the power went out this evening, for just over two hours, right when it was starting to get dark.

At first, I was a bit irritated. I was watching an episode of House online, and wanted to see how it ended. What was I supposed to do with my time until the power came back?! The kids started getting a bit restless - their Sesame Street movie had been interrupted as well. We were just a bunch of screen addicts that had gone on sudden involuntary withdrawal. Much longer and we would have started chewing on each others' legs and fingers!

But after the dust settled, I realized that this would be a good opportunity to do something I don't think I do often enough (especially since the morning sickness kicked in) - play with the kids. We just got a beach ball (though where we'll find a beach to use it at I don't know) and the kids and I started tossing it around and having a great time. Zaylee has been working on catching balls, and had a lot of fun trying to catch the large, bouncy ball. Thomas thought it was a hoot when she would throw the ball at his head and it just bounced off without hurting (mental note: make sure Zaylee knows that she is not allowed to do that with any other balls). And with the kids chasing the ball around the living room, I was able to play with them without getting up from my relaxed position on the couch.

After we exhausted our ball-playing energy, we read a few books. It was still mostly bright outside, so it wasn't a problem. Then it was bedtime for the little ones and I was left alone (Jeff works this evening). At this point I remembered again that there was nothing to entertain me. I tried reading next to the window for a while, but we only get so much light from the street lamps. By the way, it was really frustrating for me to look out the window and see functioning street lamps, and houses across the street with working lights, but to not have any power in our apartment building. I lit a candle and tried to read by candlelight, but quickly decided that my candle must not be the reading type, and put the book away before I ruined my eyes more than they already are.

Around this time there was a large bang outside, and I hurried to the window to see an accident in the intersection by our apartment. I would have called 911, but the phone wasn't working of course, and there were other people there to call. Having nothing better to do, I stayed by the window and watched people and police cars gathering around for a while. Then a police car pulled up and parked right in my way, blocking my view of the accident. So that venue for entertainment was closed off. By the way, I do not find car accidents to be amusing or fun in any way. I was just so bored because there was absolutely nothing else to look at.

Anyway, I lit my candle again so I could find my way around the house. At about that time, the power suddenly came on again, so the candle was superfluous. Overjoyed, I turned on the computer and here I am blogging about the adventure! Oh, and as I write, it appears that they're in the process of towing away the car that has been stuck in the middle of the intersection for the past hour or so. I hope nobody was hurt badly.

So now I have a renewed sense of priority - we need flashlight batteries! Lots of them! Flashlights all over the house! I don't want to be stuck in the dark again. Has anyone ever tried to go to the bathroom by candlelight? Quite the unique experience.