It's IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. IWSG is the brainchild of the amazing and generous Alex Cavanaugh. To find links to other IWSG contributors, click here. Thank you to co-hosts for November's IWSG: Kim Lajevardi, Victoria Marie Lees, Joylene Nowell Butler, Erika Beebe, and Lee Lowery!
As I draft this post, (five days before you'll read it) we are 72-hours into a power failure after a devastating nor’easter. My entire town has lost electricity. These days, I’ve got a full-house generator which we arranged to put in when my husband was sick. Ironically, it wasn’t fully operational until a few weeks after we lost him, but my daughter and I are blessed with it now. There is not much worse than sitting for days in a freezing house praying for the power to go on, but this time we've got heat, hot water and lights. No cable or WiFi, but still, it’s all good.
In more irony, I was supposed to have four, hundred-foot pine trees taken down the day before the storm but the tree guy was delayed. We live in a pine grove and for various reasons, trees have been dropping like matchsticks over the past several years. My four are now exposed. Two of the four were struck by lightning this summer and while they remain(ed) standing, the damage forced me to pull the trigger. I’ve been waiting over two months for their removal and now, I’m a day late and a dollar short, as they say. One of the lightening-struck trees snapped in Tuesday’s wind and its top is now decorates my yard. An oak that never worried me also cracked.The damaged crown, still attached, dangles over the generator in what they call a "widow-maker." Ugh, yes. But while all this is a worry, I have to put it into perspective. Down the street, a tree rests on the shattered windshield of a neighbor’s car. Elsewhere, uprooted trees landed on several houses. Those with severe damage take priority of course, so now it's time to cultivate patience. Given the tree devastation around here, who knows when the tree guy will make it back to me.
So, what has my storm experience to do with writing? Not much, really. Only, this is my first significant storm with a full-house generator. I'm not used to having access to anything electrical during power outages so it didn’t dawn on me until earlier today I can fire up the laptop, edit my WIP and create this blog post. (Fingers crossed on actually being able to publish it!)
Today is a day to count blessings. My daughter was with me through one of the loudest, longest and scariest storms I have ever experienced. We have light and warmth. A fuel company delivered more propane to the generator today. And once I figured out I have the power to open the laptop and write my IWSG post, this 500 hundred word vent helped things feel a smidge more normal.
Update: Power restored. Undying gratitude offered to the multitude of power workers who descended on us from places as far away as Alabama, North Carolina and Canada to repair our electric grid.
15 comments:
Glad you are all right! Good thing you had the generator. Nice to hear people from our area are coming up there to help.
There are always blessings in life if we look for them.
Wow! I was just thinking that we eastcoasters had it good this fall!
Glad everyone is relatively good.
I'm in Labrador for a wee bit and the weather has been fabulous. It's definitely a sign of climate change when the trick or treaters don't have to wear snowsuit!
Talk soon I hope.
Looks like one hell of a storm. I'm glad you're safe and well. We don't often have such severe storms in the UK - power outages last a few hours rather than days. Just hope we can bring climate change under control so it doesn't get worse.
Whew! Glad to hear you made it through! As someone who's been through a handful of hurricanes, being grateful, patient and positive is helpful. Not that it's easy, but I try my best. :)
We've had a few storms in Michigan, but the most we had to worry about was getting water in the basement. I guess we didn't know how lucky we were. Glad you have enough power to write. That's a blessing at least. Hope you have full power by now.
Glad you got your power back. We don't realize what we've got until it's lost. I live in a jungle rancho where 55 other homes are. A month ago, the electric company owned by the government decided to audit small communities like where live and they cut the power until it's figured out. I too have a whole house generator after losing power to a few hurricanes, but it's noisy and expensive...but hey...I don't have options. I checked solar and in this area it won't work. And glad you got to write again.
Whew. Glad you are safe. Those are some scary pictures. The storm mostly missed us to the east. Those power companies are so good about helping each other out.
Glad your power was restored. Stay safe!
Wow, Liza! I'm glad that you and your daughter came through the storm okay. Power workers are definitely my heroes! I hope that you can get your trees taken care of sooner rather than later. Happy IWSG Day!
My goodness! What an ordeal. So glad you're all safe and power is restored. Events like this just give life a different bit of perspective.
Wow - that looks wicked bad. Glad you and your daughter stayed together safely. I think your husband was looking over you in some way. Fortunately my dad in PA did not get stuck in his electric recliner - he was in the kitchen when his power went out for 10 hours or so. Take care and good luck with clean up.
I'm glad you're okay and got through it mostly unscathed. Makes me appreciate my mild weather and rain. :-)
I'm so glad your daughter was with you when you went through a long no-power time. I didn't have power for three hours on Monday, and that was enough for me. I don't have a generator like you. If it was longer, I could have gone to my daughter's or boyfriend's house.
Wow! I'm so glad you are safe and warm without a tree on your house! What a blessing to have a generator in this situation, too. Praying for peace as you recover from the stress of a big storm.
What a storm! So glad you're safe and that your daughter was with you. Scary! Your vent is totally appropriate. You are so fortunate you have the generator. Hopefully, that is the last big storm you'll have to weather.
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