Power Failure

Trying to keep cool after the house heated up.

It is rather scary and a bit sad to see just how dependent upon electronics we have become. Here is a peak into the chaos of our day on Monday.
It was early afternoon, right around 1pm. It was hot and humid, too hot for our heat sensitive family so we were all inside. Val and I were working on our computers. Mel, my youngest daughter was reading again on her computer. Sissy was playing a word challenge game on her computer and little Bubba was playing a game on the Kinect. All of a sudden everything went dark. The power had gone out. Ok, no big deal right?

Wrong! After calming Bubba and Sissy down, yep they both were scared as neither likes the dark and to keep the heat from the afternoon sun out and the house cool we closed all the shades on the east side of the house. With our work put on hold we turned to finding ways to entertain the children. Out came the toys, coloring books and paperback books. By 4pm we were all more than ready for the power to be back on. Dinner needed to be fixed and although the stove is gas so we could still use it to cook dinner that would mean heating the house up and with the air conditioning off for three hours now the house was getting warmer by the hour. Opting for the least heat producing dinner Petey, Val's husband decided to cook out doors on the bar-b-Que. Which turned out delicious even if the french fries were a bit on the soggy side.

6pm it is getting darker in the house and still no power. Val pulls out all the candles. The shades on the west side of the house get closed and those on the east side opened to let in a little light. Mel and Sissy pull out paper and drawing supplies and go to work drawing cartoons. Val finds a good novel and curls up on the couch. Bubba and Petey find things to keep them occupied, and there I sit. I guess you could say that at times I have a one track mind. I had been working on the Mysterious Past novel when the power went out and all my research and drafts are on the computer. Sure I have many other hobbies and could have easily turned to painting, drawing, sewing or some other fun activity. But my mind was reeling with ideas for the book so I pulled out a note book and began to write.

8pm still no power, the house is now dark and it is time for Sissy and Bubba to head up to bed. Using the flashlight on his cell phone Petey takes the kids up to bed as Val grabs the battery operated trinket I got her for Christmas a few years back that lights up a square crystal with fairy etchings on it, to place on the dresser so the kids have some light. There is only one so the kids agree to sleep in Bubba's room so neither have to sleep in the dark.  By now the house is too dark for any of the activities we had been doing so Val, Petey, Mel and I place all the candles in the middle of the dining room table and pull out two decks of playing cards.

10pm still no power but that is alright we are having a great time. I had been wanting to play canasta for a long time and this was the perfect opportunity to teach these young whipper snappers a fun card game. The power finally came back on at 10:48pm just in time for us to wrap up our game and head to bed ourselves.

This day without power showed just how reliant on electronics we have become and makes me think it would be a good idea to routinely unplug for a full day. It is easy to unplug for a few hours and not really think too much about it but when it is unplanned and last for a full day it is almost as if one feels crippled. What would you do without power for a full day? Do you routinely unplug?

Linking up my not so wordless post with wordless Wednesday at: