Tuesday, February 09, 2010

didn't dodge the bullet

There we were, watching movies, sewing away, piddling around on the computer while to our south and west people were sitting in the dark. Then we got hit and our house got mighty cold mighty fast. When Julia Ellen woke at midnight crying because she was shivering all alone in her crib (despite several layers of jammies) I nursed her back to sleep in our big bed. But trying to sleep with a kicking baby left me tired when dawn finally broke on Monday morning. Last night we checked into a hotel for warm beds, warm food, and hot showers, but Babydoodle awoke again at midnight and I tried nursing her back to sleep again less successfully. The cardinal rule of staying at hotels with children is not to disturb your neighbors so I only got about 3-4 hours sleep before Will and Julia Ellen and I snuck down to the breakfast buffet.

Today we are back home with clothes in the washer, the pantry restocked, and the furnace blowing out heat. However, another storm is fast approaching, the threat of 20 more inches of snow makes us worry about the power staying on. Up on the farm in Maine we have the tools we need to stay warm and fed at home: a backup generator to keep the lights on, a tractor to plow the driveway, and wood heat to keep warm. Down here in suburbia we are so dependant on the utilities that if they go out we are helpless. While I appreciate the cultural opportunities we have so close to Washington, DC, I would prefer to live like the pioneers who managed to survive winters without government "assistance", but relied on themselves and their neighbors.

1 comment:

Renee said...

Losing power in the winter is so hard esp when the kids are little. Praying that the snow doesn't materialize and that you don't losepower