Hello, again... I realized that this blog was dying a slow death if I didn't get it together, and with NFL training camps just having started, I better dust off my fingers and get going. So, welcome back!
If you live anywhere within the continental U.S., I'm sure you've experienced on some level the summer storms that have blown through every corner of the country. Just prior to the fourth of July, we had a terrible storm that lasted for 5 minutes with effects that lasted for weeks.
I had just gotten home from work on a Friday and was laying down for a quick second. Taylor was feeding the baby. It started to get pitch black and then all h*ll broke lose (because of course, I was trying to close my eyes for just a second). I had opened the door to bring in the twig topiary balls we have on our front porch, which blow away in 5 mph, much less 80 mph. I opened the door and like a scene out of the Wizard of Oz the wind blew me back. I had to throw my shoulder into it like a small linebacker to get it to close. I sent Taylor to the middle of our stairwell to keep feeding Brecken (because Becoming Baby Wise has burned into my head that we have a much better chance at life if the baby stays on a schedule). And then there we sat, with no power. For days. In blistering heat.
We lasted as long as we could in the basement. We share a little backyard courtyard with our neighbors where those who had generators were kind enough to set up a little stations to run extension chords. We ran a small window AC unit we had kept from college - hoarding moment paid off! But, my first concern... my breast milk in the freezer. No way was I losing this. So, I called everyone I knew who had power and used their freezers. I had breast milk spread out all over this county.
Finally, on Sunday, the power flickered on. Insert momentary tears of joy. Then went back out. And then like Bombs over Delaware County, a transformer outside our neighborhood blew up. My first thought: do we need that transformer to get our power back? Likely yes. So, my second thought: AEP would leave us for dead and save who they could. In the meantime, our new neighbors came out to say their basement was flooding because they hadn't had their battery powered back up installed for their sump pump yet. Their what?! Crap, literally.... we started bailing water out of our own basement. Finally later that night the power came back on. So picture me, holding baby stripped down to a diaper at this point, sobbing. I had to remind myself to set the tone. Don't panic baby. Pull it together.
Here's the lesson if anyone else has lived their younger adult life in an apartment and is now adjusting to homeownership:
1. Buy a home near neighbors that appear they know what they are doing. Don't be afraid to poll the hood before buying. What kind of tools do they own? Could you say "water filter" and they can rattle off what aisle to find it in at Lowe's?
2. Buy a generator. We put ourselves on a waiting list right away and picked one up later that week. Did I feel bad taking it from someone who was still without power? Yes... but the baby made us even. We bought one that runs 5500 watts, enough for a fridge, another large appliance and a few lights. Or, you can get fancier and buy one that is wired into your home and can power the entire house with an automatic kick on system. My sister who felt the effects of the storm on the East Coast was at my parents house at the time, and for her, roughing it was running off the whole house generator. I was relieved when she said the power came back on. Poor thing...
3. Make sure you have a battery back up for your sump pump (first, you should check that you have a sump pump).
Until then, here's to cooler weather and calmer skies!
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