Not long after I posted all my snow pictures, the power went out. And stayed out. It went out a little after 1:00 in the afternoon and stayed out overnight and well into the next day. We managed to get dinner cooked on the propane camping stove we have and got some light from a propane lantern we have (we were sure to have proper ventilation for the short time we used both of those things, so don’t worry). We also got some light from some solar lights that had been outside that Paul brought in. After we got dinner stuff taken care of (using bleach to sanitize the dishes we used since we had no hot water), we got ready for bed. We put both kids in Abigail’s room so that their body heat could keep each other warm. The next morning, we went to a friend’s house to warm up, charge our devices, and make a big decision. We were facing no knowledge of when the power was going to come back on, potentially no water (the water towers couldn’t refill because of the power outage), a boil water notice for the water we did have, and another storm (that we came to find out dropped four more inches of snow). I called my mom, asked if we could come (she, of course, said yes without hesitation), and we packed up and headed to California. We drove straight through, which was tiring, but necessary in order to beat the storm. We found out our power came on about 12 hours after we left, but we still felt we made the right decision because even with the power restored, we were still facing all the other things (including a gas shortage and a shortage of finding food) I already mentioned. We stayed for a few days until the situation at home improved and then we drove home Saturday and Sunday. Whew!
One funny story from the trip. I was in the bathroom with Abigail at a gas station and she happened to see my reflection in a mirror that was across the bathroom. She said, “Mom! There’s a momma over there that has the EXACT. SAME. BACKPACK. AS. YOU!!!” I said, “Oh? What else do you see?” She looked again, saw herself, and said, “Oh, wait. That’s me. Never mind!!” 😀
After we got home, we were grateful to find that the boil water notice was lifted, none of our pipes froze (we had left a faucet dripping), and everything looked good. We are so grateful to friends who let us come to their house and for other friends who went to check on our house while we were gone. Also, we are more than grateful to my sweet momma for taking us literally at a moment’s notice. We are truly blessed!
