On Blessings in the Dark

The day started off like any other. We heard a storm was coming and did the necessary preparations. Living rural and being homesteaders, the tasks change by season. Up until the night of the storm, most forecasts had us getting about 6 inches.

I woke up at 3am to take pictures with my new camera and we were at 8 inches. The sound of snow falling, the peace of a world suddenly asleep, it makes me smile and I stood outside for far too long. Then, the electric coming into our house became like a creature possessed: zapping, surging, fluttering out and coming back again. It was difficult to sleep in it, but I had some good thinking time. At 8:30 we had a foot of snow and it was still coming down. The heavy white had trees bending and it wasn't long before the telltale snap-crack was heard. Trees and branches gave in under the weight. I contacted work, crossing fingers and toes that the internet held out long enough for me to send a broadcast message to my students. I got as far as logging into Skype and telling my supervisor. All went black.

No problem! We live for natures challenges and hauled out our camping gear. After making sure things were in place and laughing about how the power would be back on in a flash, we curled back up in bed. It was then we discovered that the cell phone tower was out too. That was really bothersome Lunch came around and I cooked soup in a cast iron fondue pot over a sterno can and we talked. The tiels were getting chilled, so I layered them up in blankets and gave Erwin a handfeeding of warm formula. He is the cutest ball of feathers when he's eating like a fledgling. We rested some more, read, typed,and played outside with the dogs. Hobo loves snow and was bouncing and prancing all over the place! After some hot tea, we went outside to dig the car out. Learning early on the value of parking at the front of the property when one has a multiple acre driveway, we were dug out in no time.

Evening approached and the house was getting cold. Candles were set up and, as I was working on dinner, the thought came to me. Peace. I had been at peace just about all day. Where normally there would be panic at falling behind with work, being out of touch with the rest of the world...there was peace. The day had been full of blessings. Owen and I spent much needed time together. We worked on what had to be done and even had some fun moments. Not once did a snippish tone show or a emotion rolled up too high. My daily list of the little things that are good went on. We had blankets, candles, the right gear to handle the lack of power. There was food, hot packs, flashlights and things to do. This was so different than what most of the world experiences. Even those in town were lined up at the fast food places the moment power there was returned. They weren't prepared, and they have so much!

It is the end of day two of no power now. I drove Owen to his parents so he could help them out and I went to Starbucks to log-in at work. A co-worker had taken care of one crisis that arose and the others laughed with me at the hilarity of it all. After catching up on emails and being brave enough to put the essay grading on hold, I had lunch with Owens' family before heading back into town for a haircut, wash and dry. My hair needed all of the above so badly and it made the situation feel more under control. We returned to a cold house, two singing birds and two hyper dogs. After changing out the three hot packs and adding more towels to the stack already surrounding the birds. They are my only real worry in this situation. I need to rely on the One who knows when a sparrow falls to keep my feathered children safe. Owen tried to build a rocket stove, but alas, needed power for a tool and got stuck. We settled in for a bit of a rest before starting the evening meal. Dinner was the best yet, as He showed Me how to make “Grandma Morgan's Omelets.” Time around a camp stove has never been so good. The blessings keep coming, even in the dark.

#blessings #thankful #nopower #homestead