The lights are on

Storm of the century. Or something. It was bad. First the flooding. I had the sump pump on in the basement and it was coming in faster than I could pump. A new hole in the foundation looked like a hose with the water on full blast -- pouring out the wall and across the floor.

I spent the afternoon sopping up and trying to make headway, while gathering candles, flashlights etc because the warnings were dire. And they were right. The wind picked up around 5 and the lights started flickering. I heard the news report about the woman who got trapped in her basement with the water rushing in and got drowned, and started a full on panic. That could be me! Especially if the power goes out and I can't pump any more.

However, as the wind picked up, the rain stopped and we began to dry out downstairs. Had a little warm dinner and wandered around the house peeking out the windows to see what was happening. A tree in the back yard had snapped and gone over, but by some miracle it fell away from the two houses in which it was sandwiched and landed on empty lawn.

At 1am the winds began to howl even more fiercely, the power popped and within the next few minutes heard two huge planes overhead coming into the airport for a landing. Unbelievable. Cracking limbs and trees everywhere, you couldn't even follow where they were coming from but we knew it would be a mess. Nobody slept. By 5am we were getting calls to see if everyone was alright. Nobody had power. Nobody. Neighborhoods north, south, east and west, all dark. And from our windows we could see lights on the highway, but that's it. Headlights.

So we ventured out for hot coffee and food. Found that within a few blocks to the west and downtown were fine. Home Depot and supplies was just a couple of miles away. All was good. We were stocked and ready to wait it out. Until it started getting really cold when the sun went down. And we were bored. Go out to dinner? Make it an adventure and camp in the dark? And then blink, blink, the block across the street came on, the other one too and suddenly we were in the heat and light again. I ran from room to room turning on every single light I could find. The tree lights, the outdoor holiday lights, all of it. Just because I could.

And then another round of phone calls. Sister freezing in the dark, parents cold and hungry. So we had a big feast here. Got everyone warm. Began preparations for sleeping arrangements, showering, where to put all the various cats and dogs. But a few hours later, the sister's lights came on. The parents decided to duke it out another night at home and just come back in the morning. Saturday was a little chaotic. Picture a 1000 sq ft house with a Christmas tree that takes up roughly 500 sq feet. You know how when you go to the breakfast buffet it never occurs to you that the Mount Everest of food on your plate is not actually consumable. Something similar happened at the tree lot. We can't even see the tv in the living room. So that, and 5 people, 2 cats, and a really long dog. Holiday baking, making gifts, generally entertaining ourselves in 2 small rooms. Sorta fun. Sorta nuts.

So today when the herds left to accomplish things outside in the world today, I needed to clean. Like really clean. Just to get a feeling of control and order back in my life. There are all kinds of people still in the dark and cold. I guess it's hard to find a hotel room. But there is so much of the city that never suffered much, or just got one free day to stare at candle flames and nap. Seems like we could certainly accommodate everyone here and get them a bowl of soup, a warm bed, and shower.

Lots to ponder. Like why people think they can grill inside their homes with live flames. Or start fires in their fireplaces with gasoline. Being the first one into Home Depot, buying every last generator on the floor and then having a huge mark up sale in some empty parking lot to people who really need them and have to pay twice the price. Hoarding ALL the batteries you can find on the shelf instead of sharing.

Can I squeeze in a nap before the herds arrive back? Yum, smell of clean and a quiet house.