I’m writing this by lamplight. Yes literally. I have taken a photo to prove it!
We have been without power for five days and I know that won’t seem very long to those of you who live in challenging climates where power failures are a regular event, but for us it’s an unusually long period to be off the grid.
We had a big storm five nights ago and over 2,000 homes were left without power in our local area. The fact that a giant tree in our front yard fell over and took out the neighbours power lines just added to the drama. Our two cars were miraculously saved from destruction, but they were trapped behind a very large tree trunk that was laid across our driveway. Fortunately a kind neighbour lent us their car and I have been able to travel to work without too much drama.
I have really loved going to work this week – there is so much electricity there! Not just hot showers, but microwaves, fridges and power points to charge your devices. We got a message to say that our partners could come to work and use the showers, but that they needed to be accompanied ‘at all times’ by an employee. That made me laugh. I’m not sure that the other people using the men’s amenities would really appreciate me lurking about in the men’s room watching my husband have a shower, let alone accompanying him into the shower.
I am trying really hard not to write a post about how difficult it has been to live without power, as I’m acutely aware that many people in the world don’t have the same amenities that we take for granted. I don’t want to whine about a situation that is after all, temporary and fixable. At some time in the next few days a nice team of workers will come and fix the power pole that has been flattened down at the corner of our street. They’ll reconnect the wires and our life will return to normal. This is not the case for refugees in so many parts of the world and for people who struggle daily with a lack of food and other basic amenities. I think we are really lucky. We still have a working toilet and the local shops are open and doing a roaring trade in hot coffee and BBQ chickens.
So instead I’m taking the time to think about all the good parts of my life. For example, our lovely neighbours who have been kind enough not to complain about our big tree making a complete mess of their front yard, cutting off their power and partly demolishing the dividing fence. The arborist who came today commented that he had been to many houses where falling trees had destroyed the relationships of previously friendly neighbours. I’m hoping that this won’t happen to us as we have the best neighbours in the world and I would hate to have a situation that is strained and difficult. I’ve been in that situation before and it’s truly horrible.
I’m lucky enough to have some internet access on my phone so I’ve been able to keep in contact with the outside world but it’s strangely quiet in the neighbourhood. We have one battery-operated radio that we found in a cupboard (thank goodness for olden days equipment), and quite a lot of camping gear that has been hauled out and put to good use. I’ve also discovered that it’s easy to read on the iPad when there’s not much light around. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but I am a tiny bit addicted to downloading sample chapters of new books from iTunes. Last night I was so bored that I read all of the sample chapters that I’ve downloaded,but never actually read, over the last few months. So now I have new list of books that I simply must read, and quite a few that I thought might be good but are actually rubbish.
All in all, it’s been an interesting an educative experience. People have been kind and generous and we have survived quite well but I am quite looking forward to catching up on some telly and having a hot shower at home, by myself.
Margaret Moon 