Ice storm of 2014. For days, we were inundated with projections and warnings and forecasts of unprecented ice and power outages. We considered heading south to the Links to escape, but weren't sure that it would materialize and didn't want to have to turn right back around for B to head into work if it didn't. As it turned out, school would be cancelled for him for 3 days and baseball activities for 5. Once we decided to stay, my main concern in sticking it out was the lack of heat source. Our gas fireplace hasn't worked since we moved into this house and we've never worried much about repairing it. But as the prospect of going days without heat approached, B hit the social media airwaves asking for suggestions and worked hard on it the night before the impending storm...
...and he totally fixed it! We all just sat and watched for a few seconds :))
Wednesday morning, the freezing rain began. It was beautiful and noisy and so slick. We charged our phones, finished laundry, made a warm breakfast and got started with schoolwork, not sure when/if the power would go out from the weight of all the ice accumulating on tree limbs and power lines.
For awhile, I was not onboard with the idea of playing in it this time. I kept thinking we would get out there and the kids would get to their freezing point (like they had in the snow a couple of weeks prior) and come in to warm up just in time for the power to go out. Finally though, the kids (and B) could resist the winter fun no longer. The hill in front of our house was ripe for sledding (or luging :)) with a perfect icy slick covering...
They had a blast :)). So thankful for the neighbors' sharing of sledding equipment too...
We held onto power all day and felt so fortunate! So many around us lost it early into the storm and ended up being without for many days. I walked around in the backyard that afternoon and marveled at the beauty and the craziness that we had only had ice (no snow yet) and it looked like this...
With B home from school and baseball and church activities cancelled, we settled in to warm up and play inside for the evening...
And then, nightfall came. It's impossible to describe the sounds and sights of that night. Trees cracking and falling with loud crashes and thuds. Transformers popping and blowing so often that the sky was continually lit up with blue and green like a combination fireworks show/lightning storm. And finally, the loss of power. The kids were in bed when it went out, so we initially left them there and B and I pulled out the couch bed to sleep by the fire and be closer to them since our monitors aren't battery-operated. Greer stayed snug in her bed the whole night, but the other two woke at different points and joined us in the living room.
Snow also fell that night, so we woke to a beautiful blanket of white and trees broken or weighed down and sagging everywhere.
Inside, we all stayed close to the fireplace and worked on school :). I really can't believe how warm the fire kept the middle part of the house.
We enjoyed the quiet time...with no media and our phones not working and nowhere to be. Later in the day, we ventured out a little bit as the temps rose enough to melt the roads. It was crazy to see everything shut down around town. Later, we learned that at least 85% of our area lost power.
Our neighborhood soccer field was literally an ice skating rink...
...and this is only one of thousands of trees down on power lines. I didn't get great pics of it, but it honestly looked like a million tornadoes touched down everywhere.
With only Publix open (and running on a generator), we grabbed a couple of supplies and headed back home to settle in for the night. With light and heat, the pullout couch and Garner's mattress pulled from her bed, some instant coffee for B to warm up on the grill and games to play, we were ready for night 2 and another living room sleepover :)
Can't say how many times we were thankful for supplies from our camping trip last year! Battery-powered lanterns and a battery-powered fan to muffle the crackling trees and break up the still silence of the house made bedtime much easier...
The rest of the house was shut off and too cold to spend time in, so this is where we did life for those days. Schoolwork, game playing, reading, sleeping, etc. It was lovely and made us think of the benefits of the old way of living that we read about in school books where large families shared small spaces. I can't say that I really wanted it to end...
Without power, there is such a stark difference between day and night. Although the night wasn't bad, it was beautiful to see the sunlight come through in the morning and be able to see what we were doing again...
Endless clean, hot water (thank you, gas water heater!) made this whole experience so much less like "roughing it." I can't tell you how many times a day we would marvel in thanks that the water came on and was warm...when everything else didn't work. Though the bathrooms were cold, the warm showers were heavenly. And the fireplace again came in handy again as a hair dryer :)
Valentine's Day fell on that Friday and we were nowhere near prepared for treats for the kids or a date night, but honestly the gift of sweet family time and the week's adventures had been so much better. Our power was restored that afternoon and B and I put the kids back in their own beds and settled in for a sweet evening with treats, a rare magazine read, footrub and some mindless tv watching. Perhaps one of the best February 14ths ever :).
Later that Friday night, we experienced our first earthquake! Nothing crazy compared to those in other parts of the world, but super scary at first when you don't know what it is and you've lived a little on edge the past few days. Even scarier for our friends who didn't have power yet and felt/heard it in the dark. So thankful that through all of the damage and falling trees and earth shaking, there were no major injuries or loss of life. MUCH to cleanup, but also much to appreciate.
So, final thoughts from it all?
*Clean water is a huge, huge blessing that we so take for granted. And
hot, clean water? A luxury.
*A gas fireplace was really all the heat that we needed.
*The extra space in our house seemed superfluous when we had all we needed in just a couple rooms.
*Our favorite items for the week: gas fireplace and battery-operated fan and lanterns.
*It can be so lovely to have no access to media. :)
*We surprised ourselves with our handiness. Not being known for that normally, we were able to fix the fireplace, boil water on the grill for B's coffee, make meals with no refrigeration, etc. It's amazing what you figure out when you have to.
*We learned that a whole chicken wrapped in foil cooks deliciously in one hour on the grill.
*We also learned that you can survive okay on peanut butter, chocolate, water, bread, fruit and granola.
*We should've listened when they said to get a battery-operated radio. Phones are not 100% and we felt a little disconnected from all the announcements and updates without access to anything outside.
*We are completely confused by the rush to get milk before a storm like this. It isn't a necessity and only causes problems when the power goes out and there's no way to refrigerate it. We did put ours outside in the ice for a little while, but the temps warmed days before the power was restored, so it wasn't a long term solution.
*Cell phone car chargers are great.
*It's fun to all sleep in the same room.
*It's fun to all sleep in our own rooms. ;)
*I love my kids' creativity.
*What adults dread and panic over are what memories are made of...and what kids
hunger for.
*It's pretty great to cancel
every single thing and be home together for days. Kind of wish we could pencil that into the calendar once a year...
*And you spend more time with your neighbors when you don't have access to the outside world and have a million places to be. And it's so good.
Working to figure out how to learn from it all and simplify some of the crazy...thank You Lord for keeping us safe and teaching us much. And please, bring the spring! :)
