Key Issues

Spoiled by Power

So I've been reading this futuristic novel about a people who are entirely dependent upon the web as their power source, for their survival really. Without it, they are set back thousands of years to a medieval style existence.

And of course it's fiction, but still I think, surely it couldn't be that crippling.

And then...the storms rolled into town on Wednesday.

It looked a little ominous after work, but so what...I needed groceries. I got them, loaded them up (along with the kids), and headed home.

I then called my husband on the cell phone (yes Rob, while I was driving) to see when he was planning on coming home. (In case you guys wonder why we call you after we go to the grocery store, I will shed the light on this issue: WE ALREADY WENT GROCERY SHOPPING WITH KIDS. WE ENDURED NAGGING ABOUT WANTING BUBBLE GUM AND MARSHMELLOWS. WE HANDLED A ROLL-AWAY CART WHILE LOADING GROCERIES INTO THE CAR. THE LAST THING WE WANT IS TO HAVE TO CARRY IT ALL UP THE STAIRS AND INTO THE HOUSE WHEN WE GET HOME! Which I had to do anyway...but I digress...)

I was immediately excoriated by my husband for driving in the weather. "It's been rainy and windy all week. What's the big deal?" I ask. (I figured he was just thinking up an excuse to avoid coming home...)

He ordered me to get off the phone and concentrate on getting home. Okay fine. Whatever.

No problem. I get home and lo and behold, it must have stormed pretty badly there...BECAUSE I HAVE NO FRIGGIN POWER AND A CAR LOAD OF GROCERIES AND HUNGRY KIDS!

I had planned on serving up leftovers, as I had made an abundance of chicken with wine sauce and homemade garlic creamed potatoes the night before. Not happening. Instead, I stood guard in front of the refrigerator and freezer refusing entry for fear the power would be out long enough to ruin hundreds of dollars worth of food.

When I was a kid, I would have translated such an evening into fun and adventure, listening to angered thunder and getting to wander around with my very own candle.

Alas, the burden of responsibility takes all the fun out of everything... I lit candles, sent the kids on a working flashlight hunt, and loaded coolers with the perishables I had just bought from the grocery store.

I found some soup with a pop-top and stared at it...and then the grave reality of the situation hit me...MY GAWD, I HAVE NO MICROWAVE!

After feeding the kids a hearty meal of pb+j, chips, and fresh fruit, I tucked them in, reading a story by flashlight.

I then picked up my book and continued my own reading by flashlight, at that point wondering if the author had been inspired by the Y2K scare.

It was around ten when the household once again came to life with power.

And the biggest battle of the evening had been convincing my husband that it wasn't worth letting all of the cold air out of the refrigerator just so he could have a beer.

(Don't feel too sorry for him; we do have a wet bar, so he wasn't completely without drink...)