After the Storm

After the storm: Brown-out. No water. No phones. No internet. No television. Not even a radio!

Boring! The girls were shouting the word every few seconds a few hours after the storm left our area.

But I also saw, they were curious. It is their first time to experience a power outage this long.

They tried turning on light switches; sneakily pressing the remote control for the television.
Warned about water shortage, they took to washing or quick showers.
Bored because of the silence, they lined-up all their battery-operated toys that make sounds; and pressed them randomly.

And of course, the cries of 'what could we do? Boring!' continued.

Well, I told them they could play with their neglected toys. But they better find them before it gets dark.
I told them they could bring out their table games and we could play together. I told them we could go out and play with the puppy. I told them we could walk around the village and check out the damages left by the storm.

When it started getting dark: I told them we could start bringing out the candles and their holders. I told them we should help out in preparing dinner and in setting up the table. I told them we could prepare our bed. I told them we could do shadow plays. I told them we could cuddle and tell stories together.

Oh but I did a few things, too. I had to drive in the dark to find drinking water suppliers that are still operating. Good thing there were a few with generators so we found enough. I tried finding enough battery for our radio to listen for the news, sadly, there were no more batteries in the size I needed, available in the stores that are still open.

So, we dont even know what is happening in other parts of the world! (I called my parent's house early morning and they were ok but with the same situation).

I had to turn-off my mobile phone to save power. Since we dont even have a radio to monitor the news, I sent sms to some friends and they informed me that it might take 2-3 days before everything would return to normal!

I told the whole family. I again turned-off my mobile phone. We took quick showers. Prepared the candles and matches. And braced ourselves for the next day.

Of course, I am thankful that nothing happened to us. And that is the most important thing!