Powerless

On Sunday evening Miles was enjoying a nice episode of “Thomas and Friends” while his parents enjoyed a much-needed break from a long weekend of parenting a toddler. Suddenly, the power went out. We’d been experiencing high winds all day, and the temperature was dropping rapidly. We immediately learned that we are utterly unprepared for emergencies of any sort.

We could not locate the number of the electric company because we don’t own a phone book and we pay our bills online. Anyway, our phone was out since it’s a cordless. We also discovered that we had never replaced the flashlight batteries that we’d borrowed for some toy or another. So the only working light we had in the house was Miles’ Little Tykes tiger flashlight. It growled fiercely as C. carried it down to the basement to check the fuse box. No luck. Half our neighbors had lost power, too. At least our stove and one kitchen light were working so I could still cook dinner.

As fate would have it, this was also the evening that C. was leaving to start training for his new job … in another state. But what could we do? At least our heat was still working. So Miles went to bed, C. left, and I was on my own. I had been looking forward to sinking into the couch with a glass of wine to watch “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Alas, I was forced to read and listen to my iPod, like the pioneers of the Old West.

The next morning, I made Miles some instant oatmeal and plugged the refrigerator and coffee pot into the one working outlet. (Oh yeah, people, I've got mad survival skills.) We went about our normal routine, heading out to Stroller Strides and then story time at Barnes & Noble. (I know. It’s a glamorous life I lead.) When we came home a couple hours later, though, there was an unmistakable chill in the house. Craaaaaap. ALL the power was out now.

Our burglar alarm was emitting a piercing shriek at regular intervals and flashing a red light that read “trouble.” No kidding. I could not figure out how to turn the damn thing off. I tried C. on his cell phone. I texted him on his Blackberry. No answer. I fed Miles PB&J and some lukewarm milk. The temperature in our house was dropping another degree every time I checked the thermostat. The outside temp was 16 degrees. Super.

I used my cell phone to call our only neighbor I’m friendly with. She had power and was home with a sick 3-year-old, her newborn, and a nasty sinus infection. “You’re welcome to come over here,” she offered. Um, thanks … My other friends in the area were working. I could go hang out with their nannies, or I could go visit my SIL who lives an hour away. It took 3 more phone calls to determine that she wasn’t home. Then my only working phone died. No car charger = SOL.

I was beginning to panic, but I bundled Miles up and put him down for his nap. His room felt like a meat locker. Then I ran down to my sick neighbor’s with my cell phone, charger, and milk. I’ll be damned if I let an entire $5.69 gallon of organic milk go to waste!! I ran back home in case Miles was in the process of being kidnapped from our non-alarmed house.

No phone. No Internet. No TV. No radio, even. (Damn iPods!!) Me, my baby, and all my useless technology were going to FREEZE AND DIE. And then … the power came back on. We were saved. Until I needed to look up the number for the pizza place and discovered the DSL was down.

TIP O’ THE WEEK: Prepare for an emergency. Buy some batteries and candles and a transistor radio and maybe a cooler for your expensive dairy products. Or at the very least, a car charger for your cell phone.

LINK O' THE WEEK: My altruistic friend E.G. is embarking on a year-long goal of volunteering every single day for an entire year. Follow along on her blog. Maybe some of her do-gooding will rub off on her slacker friends. :)