Lights Out

Literally...

The big storms that you likely endured today or yesterday made their way here to Mechanicsville. And, they kept throwing around the big "T" word! This of course made mommy secretly very nervous, and Gracie outwardly very nervous. Thomas of course had no clue and kept on playing. That is until the power went out.

He didn't care that the lights went out. He didn't care that the TV was off. He didn't seem to notice Gracie's freak out, or mommy constant checking outside the window for said "t" word.

But, he topped us both when he saw that the fan was off!

"OFF!!!"

"OFF!!"

"OFF!"

This shout and still point at the ceiling was on a constant loop for at least 20 minutes. There was no reasoning with him, and though I felt for him--it was at some points almost comical. Then of course it was frustrating, and later annoying.

Gracie and I kept reassuring him that mommy could not turn the fan back on.

He was not convinced.

The power went out around 5:00, and it was still plenty light outside to function. I had the kids help finish cleaning up to keep them occupied and to listen the foot injuries should the power remain off when it got dark outside.

Of course the power did remain off when the sun went down.

We ate dinner by candlelight and I have never been so glad that I picked pot roast tonight. It had been cooking all day in the crock pot so it was warm and ready at dinner time. I would have just started to cook around 5:30 for the evenings dinner, and obviously we would have really struggled.

When daddy came home around 6:20 he ate and then took Gracie to the Walmart to get more flashlights and candles. He had learned that the power was out thanks to a tree that fell on our substation. We had no idea when the lights would be back on, and it could be a long night.

Daddy and Gracie left for the store, and Thomas and I went upstairs to get him ready for bed--in the dark.

I was smart and I had put all of their pajamas and other bed needs out and on my bed for easy access. I knew it would be hard to rummage with limited light to get the kids ready.

I had Thomas' star player that he uses for bedtime (and puts a light show on the ceiling), in the bed along with his light up sea horse. He didn't seem to mind the dark at all with his two companions lighting the way.

We used Gracie's Tinkerbell flashlight to light the bathroom and he brushed his teeth. Then, we used the same flashlight to read his bedtime story.


He found all of this amusing.

He was down and quiet in no time at all.

With no sound, no noisy kids, and no way to do housework I wasn't sure what to do with myself.... at first.

I lay down across my bed and listened to the silence.

Ah, blissful silence! I reveled in it. I enjoyed it. I used it to take deep cleansing breaths.

I did this for about 15-20 minutes...and the the hum of electronics jolted me from my peace (and near slumber).

I called Garren to let him know the power had been restored. Perfect timing since he had just checked out with an armful of flashlights and candles that we no longer needed.

Oh well--they will be there for next time.

We hope that if you got the storm you and your loved ones and homes were as unscathed as ours.

**The pictures above were from Thomas' bedtime routine in the dark. The first was (obviously) with the flash, and the second was out in the dark story time.**

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