24 Hours Still No Power

When I heard the big pop behind our house yesterday and the house went dark my first thought was, “Oh shit, I need a shower.” Russ was at the office, where I told him to stay as I watched the trees bend at 45 degree angles one way and back another 45 the next. The last thing I wanted him doing was driving the convertible Smart car home in this storm. He rarely listens to me in these situations so thankfully he was very busy at work and didn’t have a chance to defy me.

I got out the large supply of flashlights and back up chargers and hung out in the relative darkness hoping the power would come back on. The storm passed through North Carolina fast, but not without dumping a huge amount of water and bringing these crazy winds. Micheal was everything Florence was not for us.

I got a very fitful sleep because I had an early morning commitment this morning. I was a member of a three person panel on how to run a good board meeting for a National Association of Corporate Director’s meeting. It started at 7:30 this morning and I was not feeling good about not having had a shower. I also had to change the outfit I had planned on wear since it needed to be ironed. Nothing like having to sit in an auditorium under the lights for half a day in front of a bunch of people you don’t know. Thankfully I kept them either engaged or laughing so no one thought, “Who the hell is this homeless person.”

After lunch at the meeting I went to a church friend’s office for a meeting and then wound my way home, praying that the power would be back on. No luck. Thankfully I had a way other than the garage door opener to get in the house. I had to make sure to bring my trusty flashlight in from using it to get out to the car in the dark this morning. As I approached the door I heard that horrible sound our alarm system makes when the back up battery has gone dead. It is a piercing noise that can’t be stopped until you unplug the battery. It took me a while to figure out how to find it and do it, but eventually I did it.

It is not too hot, nor too cold so living in the house without power is not uncomfortable, not having power to the two refrigerators is a pain. As I was contemplating what to do I noticed my next door neighbor had power. Yes, people around me have power, but we are a small pocket of few houses that don’t.

I called my neighbor and asked if we could “borrow” one extension cords worth of electricity until our power comes back on. Thank goodness for the kindness of the Martindale’s. Now my food is cooling again. I am going to wait until tomorrow before I open the door to the refrigerator and throw away what went bad. The freezers were still solid thanks to the large frozen blocks.

My Dad called me to see if we had power. At the farm they lost their power and he said he has never seen so much water there in his life. The whole soccer field my dad built a few years back was under water. I am more worried about my parents not having power since they have a well and they are old. Don’t tell them I said they are old.

So no internet, no TV, no sewing or cleaning. It’s like the olden days around here. We will go to bed when it gets dark and I will use one of the many flash lights to find my way around. Let’s pray I have a different story to tell tomorrow.