I had been reading about how bad they were predicting the winter storm headed our was going to be, so just before the worst of it hit I made sure both my 30lbs propane bottles were full, and grabbed a full 15lbs bottle from Walmart. Next I took every lap blanket I have out of storage and brought them in the RV in case we lost power, then filled a bucket and every other bottle and container I could with water. Last but not least, I made little crock pot full of hamburger soup using hot and spicy V8 juice for the base. I knew if worse came to worse, it would last a couple of days, and was a filling healthy meal that could be reheated on the stove.
I am so thankful I prepared as well as I did because I woke early Monday morning to no power. Fortunately, I had thoughtfully folded and put the blankets I got out of storage in the bedroom right before I went to bed, so I began piling on those, and hoping the power would come back on. The power came back on twice in the next couple of hours, but never for longer than 10 minutes. About 3 hours later in came on again, and though I was hoping 3 times would be a charm, it went back off within 3 minutes. I then spent what has to be one of longest days of my life huddled beneath all those lap blankets, hoping the power would come back on before dark, and wondering would I survive if we had to go all night without power? And if I didn’t survive, but my cat did, would she start eating like a giant popsicle before I was found? Thinking about that was enough to make me get out from under the covers, and fill her dish, and a couple of extra bowls with cat food.
When I wasn’t wondering if I would wind up eaten by Zoey, I thought about what others have to face during bitter cold weather. Especially the homeless, who often have no shelter, or nothing but tents are even cardboard boxes for shelter. Thinking about the homeless, who were even worse off than I was at that moment, is why I focused on surviving, and not bitching because at least I have the RV, and plenty of blankets. It’s amazing what pops into your mind when you think you may freeze to death. A little after dark the power came on again, and this time it stayed on. There really are no words that can adequately express the joy and relief I felt as the power remained on, and my RV began to warm up.
Having survived one of the longest, and yes most worrisome days of my life, I came away from the experience with more empathy than ever for those less fortunate that me, especially, the homeless, and a better understanding of what is really important in life. I’ve also come away from it with a burning desire to NEVER come that close to freezing again. Which is why I will be going into next winter with a generator that can at least run my furnace, and a few other things, like my electronics, and electric blanket because fuck laying huddled under a pile of blankets with no power, and wondering if I’m going to freeze and become a popsicle for my cat.
