I had plans to turn over a new leaf this week. I had plans to return to my regularly scheduled blogging. I had plans to talk about how my attitude toward blog visit statistics has changed. I planned to tell you all about my adventures on Pinterest. I had plans to try foods that might make you gag. But all that changed Wednesday morning around 9 in the morning.
For the first time since we moved to Chattanooga five years ago, we took cover to avoid a tornado. When the four of us came out of the bathroom (of course we grabbed Spike and Vance) we discovered this just around our corner.
And we and much of our neighborhood can count ourselves among the fortunate ones. There are many, many trees down and power has not been restored to our block but what we've "suffered" is nothing compared to the devastation in much of the Southeastern U.S.
As of 6:30 this morning there were still 57,000 without power in Hamilton County (that's the Chattanooga area). There have been 76 reported deaths in the area and parts of our city and surrounding areas look like war zones. It's craziness.
And you know it's craziness when things like this have been unattended for more than 48 hours.
That can't be safe, can it?
The handsome hubby and I count ourselves pretty happy that all this has amounted to little more than a bit of spoiled milk and a reminder of how much we lurrrrrve electricity. We're thankful for nearby friends, the resources that allow us to eat out and get Internet access (thank you, Panera), and the hope that sooner than later our power will be restored and we can go back to life "as usual." Sure we've both had some moments where it's been a bit frustrating (Can you please tell me WHY it is soooo difficult to figure out that when a traffic light is out you treat it as a four way stop sign. A FRICKIN' FOUR WAY STOP SIGN, PEOPLE!!! WAIT YOUR TURN!!! GRRRRR) But, in the grand scheme of things, we're doing just fine.
We're pretty sure that this is the culprit behind our lack of electricity.
And with just seven houses affected by that little bugger, we worry that it might be a few more days before we are taking warm showers in our own bathroom or watching Ally McBeal. (Hey, maybe this storm was God's way of telling me to lay off! No? Just a hypothesis.)
So until then, it's book lights, windows wide open for a breeze, eating out and candle light discussions after dark. Not so bad when I look at it that way.
