We got walloped last weekend with an ice storm that knocked out power to large swaths of the city. We were without power for 3 days, and when the temperature dipped to -12 degrees, we had to turn the water off to avoid burst pipes.

Power came back on on Christmas Day – I know, it’s a Festivus Miracle! – but by then the whole festive season thing was ruined for me. We even had a beautiful snowfall on Christmas Day, just like in the movies, but it was lost on me. 🙁

Finally arriving home again, I sat down and looked around at my surroundings and felt so content just to be back where I was a week earlier. I realized how happy – and lucky – I was, and how much I take for granted every day. My communication with the outside world had been hampered; my morning coffee cancelled; my climate-controlled existence compromised, etc. Such little things, but damn if they don’t mean a lot, especially when all taken together. I feel so silly to be put off by such insignificant things, but there it is.

There were some positive effects imposed on me by the whole ice storm blackout experience. First, I lost a bit of weight. 🙂 Also, my late nights were replaced with a more natural existence in tune with the earth’s own rhythm, doing stuff while there was light, and going to sleep when it got dark. And, the awesome power and beauty of nature were demonstrated to me – the former reminding us how vulnerable and weak we all really are in the face of our environment, the latter inspiring and uplifting.

Now, I just have to decide whether to get myself a generator…