Tidbits From the Queen of Chaos: No Power = Living Out of My Car

Yes, I was one of 400,000 people without power with Com Ed saying it might be days before it comes back on (luckily it was only 2 days). I used to joke that I live out of my car because I am always in it driving someone somewhere or going to a game somewhere. I was an idiot to have had it so good and say that. I now know what it feels like to live out of your car. I had garbage bags full of dirty clothes that I was washing at my sister's or mom's because I really was not ready, after a weekend of baseball all weekend, to not have power. I bounced from sister to sister and then spent the night at my parents' house Monday night. I also used to joke with my husband when the house was upside down that we live in a dump and then with the power off for more than 24 hours...well...it smelled like a dump. It was hot and sticky and muggy and one of my lovely children forgot to flush the toilet (or thought that because we didn't have power, they couldn't) so I am not exaggerating...it smelled  bad. This was not a great time to be on the "no carbs" diet that I started last week because my refrigerator was stocked with meat and produce. We did borrow a generator from good friends or ours but it ran out of gas and so my husband had to walk me through starting it. Nothing makes you feel more inept than when you are not prepared for times like these. I finally did get it started but only after sweating more than I did when I was in labor with my children. I needed the power to come back sooner rather than later otherwise I was going to have to lug around the boys treatment because I didn't want them going more than two days without it.

I just wanted the world to stop for a minute so I could get my bearings and feel human again. It was the oddest thing because our subdivision and two nearby strip malls were the only ones out of power. All of my friends had power and they lived in subdivisions across the street and down the road. Ours felt like the “Little Subdivision that Couldn’t” or “The Subdivision that Time Forgot.” I would drive around (only if I had to because surrounding street lights were out and what a pain that was) and when I would come back into the entrance is was actually as if time was standing still. I found out very quickly that the world does not stop. Tommy still had camp and I had to walk him in wearing what I slept in because I had to rush from one place to the next (even better was that the coach was someone I went to junior high with). What is the opposite of the "luck of the Irish"? That's what I had. The opposite.  To see why I had the opposite of the “luck of the Irish” go to www.tidbitsfromthequeenofchaos.blogspot.com.