Hurricane Irene has come and gone, and my trees are still firmly rooted. Hopefully. I love my trees, gorgeous tall old oaks, but heck, when the winds were blowing–scary stuff!
But we all made it. And it was great because the lights went out, all around the blocks, and we went out with the kids and saw…the stars.
OK, yes, on any cloudless night, you can look up and see stars, but you don’t know until the lights are REALLY out just how many stars there are to see. Not if you live in the suburbs of New York City. We have so much background light that it’s impossible to get those dark, dark nights where you can lean back and feel all you have to do is reach up a hand to grab some starlight magic. So that was fun.
Since no one got hurt, and the electricity was only off for the day, we could get past the inconvenience of it all, and the fear of bad things happening, and do some family bonding. No opening the fridge 20 times to see the same five snacks that you don’t want, figuring out what to eat that we don’t have to cook (shh, I have a gas stove, but I wasn’t cooking) , playing board games by candlelight (I am so good at Scrabble it’s frightening), no computer, no TV, no book reading, really, since it was so gloomy, and no going to the store–any store. Ah, peace!
Except for that wind thing, of course.
It was enough to make you appreciate what you have, to wonder how people used to, and do, live without all the modern conveniences we take for granted, and to imagine what things would be like if…fill in the blank of your choosing.
All in all, it’s a good day when at the end of it you have your loved ones next to you and some stars to wish on.
♥Hmm, an earthquake and hurricane in the same week, strange things are happening… Hope everyone else did all right in the storm! Anybody else have an Irene experience to share? Or perhaps your own moment of appreciation, bad-thing turned good?
I don’t have any Irene stories, since I live in southeast Texas. But after Hurricane Ike hit the Houston area and power went out, there were people who barbequed all the meat in their refrigerator/freezer and had block parties. Neighbors helped each other clear limbs and debris from yards or rebuild fences. Families played outside and kids rode bikes instead of immersing themselves in video games. And yes, the stars were amazing with no artificial light! (All of that is not to say that I wasn’t doing a happy dance when a friend brought us a generator.) Glad y’all are okay!
That is a nice way of dealing with trouble! I love the idea of a block after-party. It shows how resilient, helpful and nice people can be. And oh, yeah, on the generator! Power is still spotty around us–my sister’s been out since Saturday, but my parents across town never went out. She’s been loading up the kids and taking showers there, bless them! Thanks for stopping by, Julie
i’ve enjoyed it the few times the lights have gone out here in California. We usually end up laughing, lighting candles, and reading – a new world without electronic gadgets!
Patti
Isn’t it, though? I have to admit, even if it was only a day, I was getting computer withdrawal symptoms–but we played more games, and it passed, whew!
We had fallout from Hurricane Ike too – in Ohio! It was a surreal experience, not having lights so I was reading books by kerosene lamp. Weird, but nice to have an excuse not to be doing other stuff because we couldn’t. But the best thing was the quiet – no TV! (Which I watch very little, but is constantly on when my husband’s home). Glad to see you’re OK and found something to enjoy amidst all the inconvenience!
Thanks, Jeannette! Wow, I didn’t realize Ike was such a widespread hurricane, too. I did enjoy the peace of things as well–and it’s been pretty quiet around here since the hurricane–except for the chainsaws going. Soooo many trees down!
It always amazes me when i get away from the lights and look up at the night sky- so many stars and colors. Glad you and your trees are well.
Thanks, Alica! It really was beautiful, and what made it more great was the kids enjoyment of it. They were amazed–and then they wanted to know the names of the constellations, and that I couldn’t help them with. The big dipper,and Orion I can do, but that’s about it. ; )
My favorite place to see the stars is up in Mammoth, California. But how wonderful that you got to see them, so bright and brilliant and crowding the night sky, right from your back yard. There are blessings in misfortunes.
Mammoth sounds wonderful. And you are right, there are often blessing to be found in misfortunes. Thanks for stopping by Christine!
lol! I’m glad SOMEONE’S good @ Scrabble. My 15-yr-old wipes the floor up with me every time we play. I had to go out the afternoon of the hurricane to see a patient in their home and a fallen branch blocked one way and a power line was stretched across the street the other way. I parked right before the cord and awaited another brave soul to pass over it. After the second car had driven by, I ventured over it and was terrified. Needless to say, I lived to wrote about it 😉
Wow you were brave–I think I would have turned right around home. And then you probably had to go back the same way…>shudder<
I love Scrabble, my kids not so much. I have to do some begging or special snacks for a game or two
I am a horrible Scrabble player. I envy you.
Irene gave us some water in the house, but not a lot and our power stayed on. I know of people who have a lot of damage from the storm and/or will be without power for days longer.
Not fun these storms. Not fun.
It’s all about the Double Word Score ; )
My husband hears all the stories from his customers, and besides the visible damage around the neighborhood, there was one guy who had one tree in his pool and one on his house. The folks who put their nice cars in the garage at the Huntington train station–storm is over, they bring the cars back, the mother parks in the driveway–crack–tree smashes it. She’d had it for 2 weeks. Ouch! But she wasn’t in it, thankfully.