outage

There is nothing like the power going out to give you sudden violent memories of this. It was only a blown transformer or something, and it's in the middle of the summer, but sometimes logic can't stop your reflexes from wanting to stockpile firewood and make sure you have food and water and a radio connection to the outside world. I theoretically believe that everyone should have a 72-hour emergency kit (that's the minimum time it takes the Red Cross to respond in a large emergency--often longer). But I believe it practically as well! And I wish I had never read that Life As We Knew It book because it was way too real in light of my own disaster experiences, and in that scenario there really was no solution. (In fact, I dreamed about that book last night, which I'm sure didn't help tonight!) The kids got flashlights while Grandpa cranked the radio and lit oil lamps. Then we went for a drive to see how far the darkness went. Lots of people were out on the roads, walking, biking, driving--looking for another human. We are so dependent on electricity, not just for conveniences, but to make connections with other people as well.

Anyway, I think once we get moved in, we'll start thinking of how to adapt our emergency supplies to our new place!