I like to think that I could a simpler life. Off the grid somewhere, isolated from other people, with the closest neighbors miles away. But each time we lose power, which is more common than you’d think despite living in a relatively affluent area, I’m reminded how much I need the modern comforts I’ve come to rely on. Like heat … and Instagram, my Peloton app, and the ability to use my Vitamix and flush my toilet. Basically, all things that require electricity.
Where I live is what I call like to call subrural. It’s a cross between the suburbs and the rural countryside. In one direction, we have cornfields and horse farms; in the other, coffee shops, boutiques, a pharmacy, and a grocery store. We have well water and use propane for heat, but our home was built in the early 2000s, so it’s not exactly Little House on the Prairie. Far from it.
Given our near-rural environment, we experience our fair share of power outages whenever we have extreme weather, like high winds, heavy rain, and snow storms. We’ve even lost power during a severe summer heat wave.
Luckily, we seem to be situated on the part of the electrical grid that gets serviced quickly during outages. Friends in other parts of the school district have lost power for days on end. The longest we’ve gone is about a day and a half.
Last week, however, was almost as long. Just over 20 hours, but it felt longer.
I tried to take it in stride, but about an hour in, I was over it. I was bored and hungry and stressed about the work deadlines I had but couldn’t meet without my computer. Eventually, I just went to bed.
Waking up the next day, still without power, was more of the same — hangry, bored, and stressed about work that I couldn’t do. Add to that the inability to shower (well water + no electricity = no water, so no shower), and I was also starting to smell (and so was my O, my 17-year-old son).
On the plus side, I got to sleep in a little later than usual because without lights, it didn’t make sense to get up before the sun rose. But on the negative side, my morning routine was interrupted — and without my morning workout and protein smoothie, I’m not very nice.
In the end, our power was restored before just before the end of the next business day, so I was able to email clients to explain my silence and get extensions for all my assignments (force majeure, and all). We were also able to shower and flush the toilets again, which is a good thing because another day without either might have been cause to leave home.
Some girls dream of Louboutin shoes and Birkin bags. I dream of a whole house backup generator. To each her own, I guess.
— LJDT
