Sixty

1. Last week was a very long week.
2. Last Sunday we went to church and were to have lunch and go to the pool.
3. But then it stormed.
4. The sky was an erie color and the wind and temperature change was intense.
5. The power went out before the storm began.
6. When the view out the window was milky white and the trees were sideways, we headed to the already darkened basement.
7. More than a thunderstorm, but less than a tornado.
8. Not a long storm, and barely any rain.
9. It was a lovely 65 degrees after the storm; it was previously in the 90's. It heated right back up in no time!
10. We hadn't had lunch, I didn't want to open my fridge.
11. Nothing around us was open, until we found that one restaurant.
12. Nobody had power.
13. 90-100 miles per hour winds were reported.
14. Sunday we slept upstairs, the kids were a bit scared.
15. I never thought we'd wake up with no power.
16. We spent the day buying batteries and flashlights and finding a cold place to get some relief.
17. Walmart was closed.
18.  Kohl's was closed.
19. KMart was closed.
20. Good will was open, but no AC and flickering lights.
21. Finally, the Dollar General had some AC to borrow.
22. The 2 pools in town were closed because they had no power to run the pumps
23. I could not sit outside without shade to watch Simon play baseball.
24. Instead, I emptied the dirty dishwasher and washed everything by hand.
25. I had water and by lighting my burners I could use my stove.
26. We ate popcorn and fruit, in the basement, with battery candles, lanterns, and flashlights.
27. The kids weren't too sure of the whole experience.
28. Because I slept on the pull out couch, they were asleep in no time in the playhouse.
29. Eric went to work that night, he had power there.  He had lots to do.
30. He took my cell phone to charge overnight.
31.  I honestly was quite freaked out with the two kids in the basement with no power and no connection and the sole responsible adult.
32. I'd run to the neighbors if needed.
33. I fell asleep, if I dwelled on that thougtht I'd never sleep.
34. Woke up with no pwer.
35. Wiped out the completely empty and defrosted refrigerator and freezer.
36. Dressings and such went to a neighbor's fridge running on a generator.  Freezer contents were resting cool and comfy at a friends house.
37. Took Simon for a haircut and browsed the neighboring store while waiting; loving the AC the whole time.
38. Lunched with Daddy.
39. Came home to the hot house to put on bathing suits and headed to a cousin's house for a family gathering.
40. They had a pool, electricity, and AC.
41. Simon changed his mind and chose to sleep at his cousins' house instead of being in the 4th of July parade, for baseball. 
42. They had power and food.
43. Eric and I came home the night of July 3rd, to the tree off of the wires across the street (thanks to Asplundh), and power restored around midnight. 
44. I caught up on laundry in the morning.
45. We went out for breakfast BY OURSELVES!  I leisurely sipped as much coffee as I desired.
46. I may have dozed on the couch.
47. The sirens 2 blocks away beckoned me to the parade. 
48. I was outside, in the shade, for less than an hour, and was a dripping mess.
49. Simon would have melted and been miserable the rest of the day.
50. Family party at Eric's Mom's in the afternoon of July 4th.
51. Headed to our friend's for their annual bash.
52. Walked a few blocks to see fireworks in the park.
53. Simon and Norah fell asleep DURING fireworks, wearing sound proof ear mufflers.
54. Came home and settled into an air conditioned house with power for night.
55. They played power outage, downed trees, severe weather with the doll house and lego firetruck.
56. I grocery shopped to fill the fridge and freezer. 
57. That was a job.
58. Actually, losing power for 60 hours is exhausting, especially in record breaking over 100 degree heat with miserable humidity.
59. I most missed a fan and the radio.
60. Yesteerday's power outages due to 2 downed live wires near our neighborhood was quite scary.  My kids are a bit gun-shy.  The burrrrrge of power shut down is not a pleasant sound.

We were okay.  Uncomfortable and a bit inconvenienced - of course.  Some people were out of power longer than us and dealt with significantly more damage.  Com Ed deserves a huge shout out for working 16 hour shifts then going home to sleep for 8.  Over the summer holiday! My guess is most of them went home to the same condtition of no power.  Several states were called in to help with the vastness of this storm's damage.  Let's just hope for rain.  Not storms!