the power of...power

It stormed here last night in the great state of Minnesota.

Well, it stormed where I live, anyway. I woke up at 3:30 am to nothing. Ah, the sound of nothing-ness.

The sound of nothing always wakes me up. Rather, I should more accurately make this statement as "the absence of sound always wakes me up." No more air conditioner, no more fan, no more tick-tock, tick-tock. Everything is silent, dead.

Immediately I set my phone alarm. My regular alarm has battery back-up, but you can't take chances when you have to get up while it's still dark outside. I tossed and turned for the next hour and a half, having a difficult time falling asleep with only Darren's snoring to listen to.

Perhaps his snoring is what actually woke me up in the first place, rather than the absence of my noisy fan. Something to look into...

I figured the power would be back on by the time I had to get ready for work because...well, it just had to be, alright?! I need my coffee! How can I get ready for work with no power? (This was before I understood the water situation...)

Well, 5:05 a.m. finally rolled around and my phone alarm went off, followed thirty seconds later by my alarm clock. Love that thing. So reliable, even without electricity. I struggled out of bed with my phone held out in front of me like a flashlight while Darren oh-so-wisely sleepily commented, "Uh...the power...the power is out." Um, yes husband, yes it is. Thank you for that insightful statement as I stub my toe on the bed.

Okay, I didn't really stub my toe. But it could have happened.

I should mention here that I grew up in the country, with a well. No city water for us. In the country, no power means no water. A double whammy. Now, a couple weeks ago I learned that in the city, this isn't so. No power does not mean no water. Hallelujah. But I decided to do a test run. I asked Darren and he said he wasn't sure if the water would work, but I thought there's no way to find out except to try. Or ask the landlords. But since it was 5:08 a.m., I decided to try it myself first.

I went into the bathroom and hauled this beast of a candle along with me. Lit the stinker and ran some water in the sink. Praise be, it worked! I had water! Maybe my makeup would be off the charts, and my hair would be dripping wet, but at least I would smell good!

I snuck back into the bedroom to inform my husband that yes, the water in the city does still work when there is no power. About this time the power came back on. I could hear it in the sudden whoosh of the fan, and the beep-beep-beep of seventeen appliances coming back online.

So, in the end, it didn't really make much of a difference that the power was out from 3:30 a.m. to 5:11 a.m. this morning, but I was very thankful for it to come back on. It's hard to think of getting through the day without electricity. It's so nice when everything works the way it's supposed to.

But just in case, it was the fastest shower ever.