Wednesday, October 27, 2010

About Last Night

So, I had a complete assbag of a day at work yesterday. But the kids were at their dad's and Eric was sweet enough to make me dinner, so everything seemed to be looking up.

Until.

As we were sitting down to dinner, there was a crash. A big one. The kind of crash your front window makes when the storm window and part of the divided light window is sucked off of your house and lands in a million pieces in your front yard.

It was already dark out and damned if I was going to go out in the dark and pick giant shards of glass out of the grass while being buffeted by sixty mile an hour winds. So I duct taped some cardboard over the hole and hung a quilt over the window and called my insurance company and left a message. Surreal? yes. Tragedy? no.

So we went back to the table, ate our delicious spaghetti squash and got ready to settle in for a cozy night of TV for me and studying for midterms for Eric. Then there was a bang. The kind of bang you hear when a wind storm knocks out the electricity of several city blocks.

No lights, no TV, no internet, no heat. But you can't break us that easily. We gathered candles and camping lanterns and lit a fire in the fireplace. Eric would study by candlelight and I would watch a DVD on my laptop. Until the battery died. And it started to get really cold in the house. And every thump or bump I heard made me wonder what piece of my house was currently hurling itself across the street and into my neighbors yard.

And the power stayed off. I showered by candlelight this morning. Got dressed in the dark. And hurried out the door to the salvation of Starbucks and a heated office and the warm glow of the internet. The poor dogs are probably still huddled under the comforter, the glass is still spread across the lawn and all the kids are going to be home tonight.

And now it's snowing.

8 comments:

  1. It sounds romantic but a bit to dangerous for me to feel comfortable 1,500 miles to the east. Snow!! That too. Stay safe.
    Wahneta

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  2. We got that same storm here, but it wasn't nearly as strong by the time it reached us. However, that did not stop the CBC new reporters from going ballistic about how the storm system was "wreaking havoc" in the Toronto area. We should send them to your house so they can see what havoc really is.

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  3. I love it. I'm so glad I can count on you to make our lives funny. I'm sorry I didn't help this morning with my crappy attitude but I was cold, and making coffee on a French Press in the dark isn't so funny.

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  4. One other thing --- don't you think the blanket tacked up over the window is a bit nostalgic?

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  5. Gee, that kinda sucks.

    DB

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  6. FUCK. Where do you LIVE that it's snowing already???

    We had crazy wind a few days ago. I was convinced I would be flattened by a tree by the time I woke up.

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  7. You guys are like a rustic mountain couple who prepare diligently for the coming apocalypse without having so much as a feather ruffled.
    Since I am so determined to survive the coming end of times I insisted on a generator except it just caused chaos and horrible anger in our crowded city neighborhood when no one could figure out why we had lights, TV and computers while they were shivering and suffering without entertainment.
    Clearly there is going to be a Mad Max style showdown when the real thing comes. I hope I get to have a mohawk and drive a cool car.

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  8. Well, I grew up in Minnesota in the 70s, so I picture myself as more of a post-apocalyptic Laura Ingalls. But yeah. Bring it on.

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