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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 53 years, two years after we met at college. I taught in both middle and high schools as I really love teens and in-betweens. I was also a certified Lamaze instructor, and for a short time a volunteer chaplain at Howard County General Hospital. I am a two-time cancer survivor, ovarian (2003), and breast (2019) I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs with great parents, in a bilingual household. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, the Orioles, and sometimes the Ravens. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy (Kath), and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader, cook, photographer, lover of languages, music, and four-footed furries.

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Friday, November 2, 2012

Luckier Than Many

We weathered the storm and came out relatively unscathed.  We sat in comfort on Sunday night, just hours after taking the photos of the preceding post; fires going in the family room and sunporch, hot tea in hand, and everything went black.

We both uttered, "Uh oh", being the original folks we are, and reached for handy flashlights and candles.  The lights flickered and on came the heat pump, TV, and the lights.  The power was on long enough for me to run around and re-set the clocks, check the power surge protectors, turn off the computers and the heat pump, and then died with a bang.  For the next three days...

On Tuesday, after we resigned ourselves for a longer outage than originally expected, our Michael brought over a generator which we put outside and ran extension cords to a couple of lights, our chargers, and alternately, our refrigerator and freezer.  Luckily, the winds had died down a bit so we could protect the generator from the rain, of which we received nine inches.

Photo: A generator means extension cords!!!!



Photo: There she blows!!


We lost a little siding and Michael and Jennie lost the pool house
Photo: Bye bye pool house :( http://instagr.am/p/RaIrUQxGxS/


 but these are inconveniences.  We did not suffer as so many in NJ and NY did.  And yet again, we hear of the heroes, like the NYU nurses who carried NICU babies down nine flights of stairs in the dark when the hospital generators failed, and all those who ran extension cords and chargers out to the street so folks without power could charge their phones; such a simple but profound kindness.

13 comments:

Bilbo said...

Glad to know that you made it through safely. We had no damage despite rain and winds that I was sure would combine to bring down some of the big trees around the house, and we only lost power twice for very brief periods. We were extraordinarily lucky, and celebration is called for at an early date ...

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

Glad you didn't have any major damage. We were so lucky here - only 2 inches of rain and the winds were more like a breeze. My heart goes out to all the folks further North.

Sally Wessely said...

I've wondered how you were doing. Thanks for the update. It seems you came through well considering. I also am just so saddened by those who lost so much. It is encouraging to know there are so many giving and helpful people out there when others need help.

Barb said...

I see the coverage and know that some people lost everything. Glad you weathered the storm with only minor damage.

Linda Reeder said...

The longest we have ever been without power was four days, and with not opening the freezer we saved almost everything there. We do have camping gear: stove and lantern. But roughing it and being clod can get old pretty fast. I'm happy to hear that you are OK.

Cheryl said...

I didn't know you lost power. It makes you feel like you're cut off from everything, don't you think? I was very lucky and the lights only flickered briefly.

See you soon?

Gilly said...

So pleased you are all OK - I was thinking of you when I read of the desolation Sandy had made.

Its a pity it takes something like Sandy for people to work together.

Kay said...

I love hearing the stories of people who made the effort to help their neighbors in times of difficulty.

I remember when there was a power outage in Illinois and our neighbor who had power actually dragged a long extension cord across the street to my daughter's house so she could plug her refrigerator.

I'm so glad you were able to cope with Hurricane Sandy. I hope you'll be able to come out of this other one safely also.

Mage said...

Your story is still special. Thanks.

Lena said...

So glad you all made it safely through the storm! We were very lucky, too. We never lost power and had no damage to our property. It was still a very scary couple of days!

Mage said...

So glad you are ok. Hugs.

Mage said...

Hope you all are ok. I had wanted to stop by and wish you a good holiday, but I think you are preoccupied. Hugs.

Cobalt Violet said...

Happy to hear you made it through! Hope you had a beautiful Christmas. Happy New Year to you and may you have a blessed 2013! ( can't believe we are almost three weeks in!)