What did people ever do without electricity?

I will no longer take electricity for granted. 

We survived Hurricane Irene.  Or was it Tropical Storm Irene?  In any case, we emerged somewhat unscathed.  House is still standing.  No major damages.  Other than some yard cleanup of tree debris and a fallen tree limb, we're fine.  The only issue we had was the loss of power.  No electricity.  For 7 whole days.  With a 4 year old.  Not fun.

Granted, we were away for 3 of those nights on vacation in Pennsylvania (where electricity was in abundance).  But still. 

We left the day after the storm.  And 4 days later when we returned, I walked into a stinky house.  The food in our fridge had gone bad.  Everything in my freezer defrosted.  Meat juices were aflowing.  There was nothing left of the box of popsicles I had, except the sticks and the wrappers.  Popsicle juice and meat juice combined does not make for a nice cleanup job.  Or a nice smelling house.  I guess we were lucky we still had running water.  No hot water, but at least we had running water. 

And let me tell you, a power outage with a 4 year old makes it even more fun.  I lost track of the amount of times I was asked, "What is there to do?" and "When is the power back?".  Geez, I don't know but it's only been 30 seconds since you last asked me.  It made for a very long day.  And an even longer night.  Lil T still sleeps with a night light.  Thank goodness for our solar lights.  We took a solar light from our yard and it kept his room softly lit through the night.  Phew. 

The power finally came back on, on Day 7.  Hallelujah!!!   I don't think I've ever been so excited to do laundry, vacuum the house, or to cook.  Ever. 

Thank goodness for our vacation plans, a wonderful friend who provided us with showers and a hot meal, our outdoor grill, our solar lights, and boxes and bottles of baking soda and Oust for getting us through the aftermaths of Irene. 

Electricity...oh how I love thee.