Let There Be Light!

Or if not light, at least power in my bedroom so I can use the electric blanket tonight! Please.

Yesterday afternoon Son#4 asked me, "Is there any reason why my computer would just suddenly turn off?"

I replied, "Not that I know of. Why?"

Son#4: "Just wondering" (or something to that effect).

Now you're probably thinking what an idiot I am for not chasing it up further and in hindsight I realise that I should have but I was on the family computer and it was working okay and we had lights on in several rooms so I didn't pay too much attention.

Son#2 arrived home from work and made some comment about there having been a power blackout because his alarm clock was blinking. Since it was obviously working now I didn't get concerned. Fast forward half an hour or so and he tells me that his power has gone again.

Again?

I start paying attention. But obviously not enough. Not until Son#2 said that he wouldn't be able to use his electric blanket did I realise the seriousness of the situation. That's because that was when I realised that there was no power in my room either!

Now we have an old house and the wiring is an electrician's nightmare but I'll see if I can explain what the situation was last night. The front room and the entry area had no power or lights; Son#2's room that is next to the front room had lights but no power; the hall that goes from Son#2's bedroom door to the laundry had lights and - I think but I didn't check - power; the master bedroom which is part-way along this hall had neither power nor lights; the laundry had both; turn the corner and this smaller hall had lights as did the bathroom (there's no power connected to these rooms yet so we won't worry about that); at the end of this hall, Son#4's bedroom and Son#5's bedroom had neither power nor lights (well Son#4's bedroom doesn't have lights usually anyway but that's a different story); running right across the back of the house (beginning next to Son#2's bedroom and ending next to the laundry) are the living rooms which all had light and power; coming off the dining room is the kitchen which also had light and power apart from the hot water cylinder (thankfully we have gas hot water for the rest of the house). Get the picture? How were we meant to discover what was going on?

By the time I had realised just how serious the situation was I decided that since DH would be home soon I would wait and see what he wanted to do. "Did you ring the power company?" he asked as soon as we told him. Uh, no. So I rang them and they arrived at the same time as our electrician son. Did I think to ring him? Uh no. (Did I already say earlier that you would think me an idiot? Well I am).

Son#1 isolated the problem. Where the power feeds into our house needs replacing. This was fixed several years ago after the wires broke loose and danced across our driveway (and as far as we know were still 'live'). I still get goosebumps when I recall that our youngest son had taken the rubbish bin down to the street just minutes before the wires came away. But I digress. At the time we thought the problem was fixed for good but it appears now it was only a temporary fix until we could get someone to look at the problem. It's a wonder it lasted this long.

Enter Son#1 again. He's going to do the necessary electrical work tomorrow morning.

"Will he be okay?" I asked my husband this morning.

"It's what he does for a living," DH replied.

I know. It's just that when he works on my house I worry because I know he's playing with wires and stuff.

I offered to write Son#4 a note for today to the effect that he couldn't do his homework because the power went out in his room and he had no computer. He declined.

So that's the story. Tomorrow we should be back to normal. Hopefully. It would just be a lot easier if it was summer right now rather than winter with more rain and hail predicted.

Anyone feel like swapping places?

(Disclaimer: Considering the world's problems at the moment I really do not consider this a serious situation. It was more a tongue-in-cheek laugh at myself for the way my family - and me especially - have come to rely so much on modern conveniences. It is certainly not my intention to offend anyone.)

Comments

busymomof10 said…
We certainly are made keenly aware of our dependence on electricity when we don't have it!! Even when you know your power is out, you find yourself attempting to flip switches, turn on lamps, run a load of wash, or turn on the microwave! :)

A good reminder of how dependent we should be on our Heavenly Power Source!!! And how helpless we are without Him!!
java girl said…
I really do love my electricity too! :O)

Thank you for your comments and advise. I try really hard to keep my chin up. Sometimes it just doesn't work. Today is better though. I do try to view God as my daughters dad. And I do know he truly does cover me with extra protection.

It's kind of like when I was a little girl and I would get scared. I knew God was taking care of all of us, but I still wanted to go and sleep with my parents because they were HERE and I could touch them ;O)

Hope you have a good weekend!
SchnauzerMom said…
We lose power once in a while during severe storms. A very frustrating experience. I like my modern conveniences!!!