It's been a rough week in the GTA. Many are still without power. We were part of the lucky ones. We lost power for only 20 hours. While cold, it was a day I would not have wanted to do without.
First, it made us sit up and realize that while we thought we were prepared, we were not as prepared as we thought. We allowed our ice-melt supply to run very low. Normally I keep about 30 pounds in the garage, plus special stuff for our steps. We were left only with the specialty ice-melt. Our battery supply was not what it should have been. We had plenty of batteries for flashlights, and a plethora of flashlights that worked (the seem to accumulate like wire hangers or single socks). We had told the kids to have flashlights by their beds in case of power loss. We have a CD/radio, but it uses 6 "C" batteries. We had 4. Thanks to Steve who brought us some. We realized how dependent on the internet we are. Neither of us has data available on our phones, so that was simply lost to us. There is no plan to change that in the future. It's also not enough to have canned stuff in the house, if it's not food you want to eat on its own. Our tuna supply was low. Water, taco shells, pureed tomatoes, and Israeli pickles is not an emergency plan. We talked for years bout getting MRE's. It's now time we do it.
Second, it made us realize how prepared mentally we were. We knew Saturday night we'd likely lose power, so there was no surprise. We have plenty of candles, flashlights, and matches. We have a cache of wood for the fireplace. It's kept in the garage, but we can open it with a key in case of lost power. There were food places open. We had bagels for breakfast and laffa for dinner. We moved food from the fridge to the deck. We remained calm, and planned as we needed to.
Finally, we're good at being unplugged. Not knowing how long the outage would last, we suggested to the kids they not use laptops, etc, but save them for when they got really stir crazy. Keren wasn't feeling great, but a comfy bed of blankets in front of a fire, and parents to cuddle with works out well. Our children are all readers, and we have a large library to keep them busy. We worked on a puzzle (finished on Tuesday). When the boys got a little stir crazy they decided to listed to music on the CD player. This led to an amazing air guitar show. They leaped about while Jesse played their invisible harmonica. Gavi was in charge of guitar. A hockey stick was his electric guitar; our old hobby horse the acoustic. Sean videoed a set so we can show it at their weddings.
As the light faded, the kids got a taste of what darkness really is. Even at camp or out camping there is always ambient light. They agreed it was eerie to listen to the quiet in the quickly approaching darkness. We threw another log on the fire, and cuddled up together with our books. Towards evening's end, the kids decided to watch a movie we'd all enjoy. They picked Night at the Museum with nary an argument. Then we all headed up to the masted bedroom to huddle up together to sleep. It was at this point the lights came on and, more importantly, the heat. The kids decided we should go ahead with the sleeping plans. After all, what's more fun than a sleep-over, and it wasn't warm yet.
The next day we were all grateful for the power and the heat, but they lamented a little bit over the loss of the opportunity. Insightful for them. Interesting for us.
I hope you are all safe and warm.
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