Ice Storm

Well, as many of you already know, we had a little ice problem this week. We braved the storms over the weekend, but by Monday morning, our electricity abandoned us. For the first several hours, we hoped that it would only be a matter of a few more hours before the power would return. It was hard for all of us to accept the lose, but it was especially difficult for Aliya.

That morning I decided to let the girls sleep as long as they could. I knew that it was going to be a long day, and I didn't want to start it any earlier if possible. When she woke up and tried to turn on the lights, she was shocked that they didn't work. She ran to us to announce"The lights aren't working! The lights aren't working!" I explained to her that we did not have electricity, but she couldn't grasp the concept. A few minutes later, she tried to turn on the TV and screamed again, "The TV isn't working!" The same thing happened when she discovered the light inside the refrigerator wasn't on anymore.

Finally, I felt that she had grasped the concept of this blackout. We told the girls that we were now waiting for the lights and heat to come back on. Aliya had to use the bathroom and so she did--with the door open so that she could still see. Apparently she washed her hands and was surprised that the water came on. She was very excited, because she thought that the running water was a sign of electricity. She ran to me to tell me that the water was on! We were saved!!! I had to explain to her that the availability of water is not connected to electricity. We had water... we just didn't have HOT water!

We held onto our hope until late afternoon. We began hearing reports that it could be at least 7-10 days before we could have electricity. We decided to accept Jessica's invitation and escape to Texas. We spent the next hour frantically packing needed items. The sun was beginning to set, and we were losing light inside the house very quickly. I also had to spend a lot of time removing all the ice from the car before I could drive.

We finally got everything loaded, and we headed to TJ's work so that he could say good-bye to us. As we drove out of the apartment complex, I was amazed at all the trees that had been destroyed by the ice. Every tree had at least one branch broken, but most of the trees had several, if not all, of their branches broken. As we drove through the city towards TJ's work, the city looked like a weird movie scene--dark, quiet, and not many people out and about.

We arrived in Texas late that night. We couldn't believe how hot it was down there! I was thankful that I had packed at least one pair of shorts! As many of you know, I am not a big Texas fan--I don't appreciate the hot heat, but on this particular day, for a day, Texas redeemed itself. On this particular day, and probably the only day ever again, I really appreciated the warmer weather.

The girls had a fun time watching movies, playing with their toys, and feeding the birds from the balcony. They loved being spoiled by Aunt Jessica! Night time was more of a challenge--Kiahna woke up crying both of the nights that we were there--she wanted her Daddy! I also figured out that she wanted more sleeping space so the first night I ended up sleeping on the floor... the second night I made the girls sleep on the floor.

Tuesday night we received notice that our electricity was back on, so I made plans to leave the next day. Mimi stayed in Texas because she had been planning on flying down there on Friday anyway for her vacation.

We left yesterday around noon and we did not make it home until that evening. I was tired from the lack of sleep, and it didn't help that it rained all the way home. It got much colder the closer we got to home. I was still in shock to see all the broken trees and bushes. It was really devastating.

When we arrived home, we spent the next several hours cleaning and putting the house back together from our hasty leave on Monday. It was wonderful to have electricity again. I am very happy, but it is still sad that most everybody I know still does not have electricity. I know for me, those two days felt like two weeks. I hope that it's a long time before we ever go through this again.

--Heidi