3 Days Without Power
What a week! On Sunday evening as we were cooking dinner and prepping for the coming week, a rain storm hit. We were expecting rain later in the evening around 7:00. Strangely, a little before 5:00, strong straight line winds, a Derecho, hit.
As the storm began, Brent was in the sunroom with Dean checking out the rain as it started to fall. We thought it was a regular rain shower. They witnessed the winds picking up then suddenly the trees started to fall. At that point Brent yelled, “Get to the basement!” We all scrambled to process and quickly ran downstairs.
Shockingly within seconds our mature trees unrooted and fell to the ground in our backyard. What once was a thickly wooded skyline is now open sky. Thankfully we were not injured.
The Aftermath
A tree came within a foot of hitting our back porch. Our usual open field of a backyard is now a maze of branches, enormous tree trunks and craters where roots used to live.
Soon we discovered many other trees in our neighborhood were uprooted too. Power lines were hit which caused utility poles to snap with exploding transformers. We were out of power instantly.
We had four utility poles down on our street alone. Extreme damage was caused by only seconds of strong (around 70 mph) winds. The number of power outages is the most in recorded history for the state of Tennessee.
Teamwork
Nashville Electric Service (NES) began working to restore our power. They arrived early each morning and worked until sundown each night. The efficiancy and skill of the linemen was amazing to watch.
Everyday has been an adventure. We camped in our home, most of our neighbors did the same. We tried to keep ice in our coolers, charged our phones by frequent trips to our cars, and helped each other as best we could.
One day some neighbors came over and helped us drag cut limbs to the front yard. Another day we worked to pile limbs after chain saw work was done in another neighbor’s yard.
A news channel stopped by one day and I made the news!
Making the Best of It
One night we started a fire in our fire pit and grilled hotdogs and s’mores. Some of the neighbors bought pizza and passed it out to the NES workers. It’s so cool to see our community come together. We’ve been through so much, all of us. My youngest, Dean said, “This is a double whammy!” Talking about Covid-19 and the storm damage. Which is true, yet, people are still giving, still serving, and still loving.
My boys have especially enjoyed this time. They enjoy camping which helps so much in times like these. They like wearing their head lights around at night and we let them sleep in the same room – super bonus! The fallen trees are a jungle gym like none they have ever experienced.
We made a list of things we’re thankful for which helped with perspective. I loved seeing what the boys wrote. There is something beautiful about being striped of your comforts; what you miss what you don’t. How much life is still available even when we feel like we have so little.
It’s not all been easy. It was shocking how drastically our backyard changed. The amount of clean up can feel overwhelming. At times my fear and stress have been heightened. Our bodies and brains have felt exhaustion.
Although, for the most part we’ve enjoyed this time, as strange as that may sound. The power restoration process has been facinating to watch. We’ve loved spending so much time with our neighbors and learned that we CAN take freezing cold showers.
We all can do hard things. These days are gifts. Moment by moment we will get through. I look to God for guidance as we continue to step into the unknown. Be encouraged today.
Almost exactly 3 days after our power went out it was restored. I know 72 hours without power is really not very long. In the storm we lost our electricity but we really did gain memories that will last a lifetime.
Have you ever had to live for an extended period of time without power? How was it?
