Power Out House

 You are welcome to read this title however you see fit.

Jon eagerly gave our home that moniker this winter when we found ourselves in the middle of a multi-day power outage as the result of an ice storm. He'd intended it to be more descriptive, as in a "house with no power." However, when he said it out loud, it sounded an awful lot like an, ahem, "mighty bathroom," which resulted in plenty of giggles.

That was not the first time we'd giggled during that time, which may seem a bit odd. But in all honesty, the power outage was actually a lot of fun, and that is primarily due to Jon's preparation and general expertise. He's pretty much a cross between a Boy Scout and MacGyver, and I am infinitely grateful for that combination.

In early February, everyone knew that an ice storm was imminent. In fact, "out of an abundance of caution" (we have come to loathe that phrase, but that's another story altogether), school had already been cancelled. The storm itself wasn't so bad, but it did leave behind an impressive coating of ice.

Pretty tough to do the monkey bars in these conditions

With everyone home and Jon trying to work upstairs, the kids were engrossed in an extravagant game of "family," while I hustled to get housework done. I was so industrious, in fact, that I was on my second load of laundry when the power unsurprisingly went out. Not a big deal...except that we have a front-loading washing machine that locks when running--which we knew--and also when there is no power connected--which we didn't know.

The laundry was low on the list of priorities, as we were more focused on retaining some heat. Jon's moment to shine had arrived. Many years ago, he/we justified the investment of a gas-powered stove in the middle of our house for just this purpose (that it looks cool and provides a cozy ambience had nothing to do with it, of course).

We immediately set to work cordoning off the area around the stove with blankets hanging from the doorways and on the floor. Indoor camping at its finest, this strategy kept our 2 1/2 room area at a balmy 70 degrees (which is actually warmer than we set the heat on a normal day). This stove also put out enough heat to cook dinner. We decided to eat in our kitchen in the "cold lands," which let us know very quickly how thankful we were to have that warm room because even bundled up, it was still a chilly meal. Kind of surreal to see your breath while washing dishes.

But we had water and lantern light to read by, so it was a very cozy evening. There was enough heat for Elsa to sleep in her own bed next door while Lena opted to camp in front of the fire. The boys and I spent the night in the downstairs guest room.

Indoor campout

The power was still out the next morning, so after a rustic breakfast on the stove, we loaded up and headed down to Jon's office, which did have electricity. We also took a basket of electronics and cords on this outing so we could charge devices. While waiting for everything to charge, we hopped over to the nearby Bass Pro Shop for lunch and bowling (yes, there is a bowling alley in the Bass Pro Shop that also happens to be inside a giant pyramid). A great way to pass the time.

Nice shoes, boys!

Still no power when we got home, so another candlelight dinner and headlamp reading session. The next day was a Saturday, and I had a writing retreat scheduled with the Memphis Mom Collective. The bookstore that was hosting the retreat had power, so I took the basket of electronics with me and spent a delightful morning writing and talking about writing (and having lunch, of course). Jon and the kids went to the children's museum and had a blast.

We reconvened in the afternoon and went straight out for tacos. Apparently only residential areas were without power because there were so many fun options of places to go. The key to this vacation mentality, however, is that we were right at the beginning of our "Covid honeymoon," all of us having just recovered from the virus a few weeks prior. There were no worries about being indoors at public places or being around other people. Amazing. The things we took for granted two years ago...

During all of this gallivanting around, we stopped at home briefly to check out the power, which was still out. But we didn't mind; in fact, Elsa said she was kind of glad that we didn't have power because we were having so much fun. And we were! We took a scenic drive around the neighborhood and marveled at how beautiful the ice looked in the trees.

Ice-covered trees

Since we'd gone out for afternoon tacos, we had popcorn for dinner and settled into what had by now turned into a routine of bundling up and reading before the fire. And because I'd charged up everything at my retreat, I was also able to participate in a virtual book club with friends out-of-state.

On Sunday morning--still without power--we went to church...and, you guessed it, out to eat again. There is a coffee shop/restaurant called the Memphis Chess Club with chessboards on the tables and game pieces to rent--the perfect spot to hang out all afternoon.

Checkmate!

By this time, we had started to hear from neighbors that houses all around us were regaining power. We'd seen lights on across the back alley the night before, so when we still didn't have electricity, we finally started getting nervous. We'd put most of the contents of our refrigerator in a cooler on the back deck days prior and just hadn't opened the chest freezer out there. We felt really confident that nothing had spoiled, but we also knew that it wouldn't last much longer, so Jon used an inverter to run the refrigerator off the battery in our hybrid car. Real-life MacGyver.

Within half an hour of setting this up, the lights finally came back on. And when they did, we weren't quite sure what to do. For a moment we all just stared blankly at one another. But then the girls started to do a happy dance, and I finally had a chance to check on the laundry (spoiler alert: everything was fine! I couldn't believe it). I guess the key to getting power back was that we had decided to implement the plan to keep our food cold...so I guess Jon should have hooked up the inverter days earlier.

What could have been a horrible experience was actually a pretty great one. We recognize that not everyone fared so well--spending days in hotels/freezing homes, experiencing expensive storm damage, throwing away food--and we are grateful that all turned out okay for our family. We were able to try out our Jon's emergency preparedness plans, and we learned A LOT. We want to be ready for the next time...and there will be a next time.

Lena is SIX!

When Lena turned six in January, it was quite the momentous birthday...just not in the ways we expected.

Lena herself has had quite the momentous year. This fall she entered kindergarten with a splash AND a bright pink cast, the result of big kid stunt gone wrong. But as usual, she surprised us and got that cast off in barely over a week. Who has bones that heal in 8 days?!?

Not only does Lena continue to surprise us, she continues to be our impulsive spitfire of a second child. It's always a toss-up whether she will hug you or kick you in the shin. I'm not joking about the latter, either. Lena continues to be athletic and now is a (mostly) competent bike rider to and from school each day. She had a great time at gymnastics camp last summer and is still a graceful ballerina. She also continues to love all things art and is just starting to become a reader in her own right.

Lena was ready for her birthday this year, as was I. Jon was nursing what he assumed was his yearly bout of seasonal allergies, so I stayed up late to decorate her door and got up early for a dash to the donut shop for Lena's birthday breakfast. I had the camera ready to snap photos of the birthday girl when I burst into the girls' room, but rather than join in the festivities, big sister Elsa was moaning in bed that she didn't feel good.

Uh-oh.

Fearing the worst, I soldiered on so as to not rain on the birthday girl's parade prematurely. While Lena was happily munching on her pink sprinkled donut, I quickly swabbed Elsa with one of the extra Covid tests we fortunately had at the house. Grandma called then, which was very good timing because it took my mind off the clock. 

But when my phone alarm rang, it was time to face reality. Positive.

I ran upstairs to tell--and wake up--Jon. He took a test as well, which immediately turned up positive. As far as we can figure, he picked up the virus at work the day before. He had actually had a negative test that morning so assumed that the crummy way he felt was due to the weather. He had spent time the night before working on a special birthday sewing project with Elsa, which is how we assumed she got it and so quickly.

And just like that, all the plans immediately changed. But first up was consoling the birthday girl.

She was so upset--understandably--to not be able to go to school to celebrate with her friends. (Luckily, we'd hosted a park playdate the afternoon before, so at least she'd gotten to do that.) Once she calmed down and realized that it was still her birthday and she'd get to do pretty much whatever she wanted, she was much more okay with the idea of spending her 6th birthday in quarantine.

In fact, she was living her best life. She got to play on the computer, work on some of the many art sets she'd received for Christmas, watch all the shows, and have a picnic lunch in the living room. She even took a midday nap (which was so helpful to me because it was about that time that Erik seemed to succumb to the virus).

Quarantine arts and crafts

After naptime, we baked her requested fairy birthday cake: yellow with pink frosting, don't-forget-the-sprinkles. By this time, Elsa had returned to the land of the living (for real, it was that fast), so we ordered in Chinese food--duck and beef lo mein, of course--and settled in for presents. Jon was feeling better, too, so he joined in as well (Erik was getting some much-needed healing sleep).

Unicorn earmuffs, an essential part of the ensemble

Lena was delighted by such thoughtful presents from family and flexible with having to postpone indefinitely her trip to an indoor trampoline park with a friend and afternoon tea with family. She was a trooper through the sheep photo shoot and then cake. However, right before bed, she faded very fast and said that she felt cold and so, so tired.

I was glad that she had at least made it the entire day before getting sick, but I went to bed anticipating a rough day ahead with more sickness to deal with. To my complete and utter surprise, Lena was the first one awake in the morning, acting as though she felt like a million bucks. The girl evidently had Covid for less than half an hour and then slept it off!

What a birthday gift, and what a way to complete her sixth turn around the sun!