So tomorrow it's suppose to be hotter than today and I was thinking
when the power went out this was the first time I have felt
anxious. It all started this morning when I was walking from my
car and heading into my office. The wind was blowing
and it was hot and the sky wasn't as blue. I knew there was going to
be a fire today. All the elements were there for a fire. I even
told my co-worker that. We even talked about, where we kept our
family albums and important papers and if they were handy just in case.
What are the things we would grab if we had to leave in a hurry, things like that.
I kept a list in my head, I'd grab our computer tower, our laptop, the plastic bins
with our family pictures, the fire box I purchased several years ago that held
all our important papers, certificates etc.
But it didn't cross my mind about not having electricity, until it happened.
Yes we lost power at work, but then it was time to go home.
Except I had an appointment down in Folsom and so I still thought I
could make it down there in 45 minutes. I heard about the fire, my daughter texted me
because it was near where she worked. She said it was on both sides of the freeway.
I just didn't think it was going to affect me in the direction I was going.
So I thought.
It wasn't until I passed a few exits as I made my way down the hill when
I could see the traffic backing up, and backing up really fast. I knew I wasn't
going to make my appointment. I quickly got off the freeway and called to reschedule.
I told them what was going on, no big deal. I thought fine, I'll just turn around and take
another exit heading towards home,but first I'll stop and pick up something
for dinner, Dave would like that.
Nope.
I got to the establishment, and I noticed
the business next to it was dark, and sure enough, the poor guys in
my favorite restaurant were sitting in the dark apologizing that they
were without power. It wasn't their fault. But like a ditz I was finally
realizing that the whole town if not most of the county was without power.
I made my way home, and sat in the driveway with my car turned on charging
my phone or attempting to. Out came my husband, he was on his way
to the Hospital, because he was on call, and he couldn't get through and
his phone wasn't working. My phone was working and he was able to check in to make sure
they weren't trying to get a hold of him. We found out that our phones were now
going from having cell service to not. This is when I started feeling
anxious. We were worried about our daughter, because she couldn't
leave her job until the parents of her charges were picked up and
her workplace was right in the middle of the chaos of traffic and the fire.
Just the fact of not being able to call Dave's phone from my phone or anyone else for that matter
made me nervous. Okay here's the over the dramatic part, I told Dave, what if
this was the great disaster, not the fire, but no power and not being able to
communicate. Here it is triple digit heat, no power for the gas stations, no power
for the atm machines to get cash if we needed it.
All those preparedness questions were running through my head.
And yet nearly a month ago, I was thinking, I need to refresh our 72 hour kits,
and I hadn't done that yet. And where was my battery powered radio, I know I
have it somewhere. Do we have enough water? Well if not,, do I have enough bleach
to purify some water from the pool? Wish I had some extra fuel for the
car if we needed it. But mostly it came down to not being able to
communicate with the world so I didn't feel all alone in this
experience. Silly isn't it. This was the reason for my anxiety. And then like a
Light from Heaven - harp music please - my cell phone came back to life with
a tweet sound - it was a text from our Bishop, Matt Hutchings asking if we were okay
and if I heard from any of our elderly ward members. I don't know if I was just a name
on his list, but it didn't matter, there was someone out there who cared if we
were okay. Sigh- cue violin music and pass the Kleenex. But seriously folks,
It felt good, because I knew were weren't alone. He asked if we had power because he and his family just got power. But of course I hadn't even checked yet, because
I was still in my car in the driveway. I thought, well he's asking I better go check......
and so..... like manna from Heaven, I walked up the first couple of steps on to our porch and
as soon as my fingers turned the toggle of the light switch, the porch light came on.
We had power! It's a Miracle! I quickly texted him back, Yes! with an exclamation mark.
I ran into the house, opened the back door and yelled to Dave, the power's on!
He responded back very casually, yes, I know, I heard the neighbors AC come on.
Oh, okay, I said. Well it didn't matter, I went around resetting all the clocks,
emptying the dishwasher and it became a regular nothing unusual evening
I kind of forgot what just happened the last couple of hours.
But did I???
So today, nothing happened that was too serious, but what if the next time it was?
Would we be prepared if it was the real thing?
Not a drill but the real thing?
I must not procrastinate and act now
or..... be acted upon.
"georgie"
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