Locked Out

Today provided considerably more adventure than I expected when I left the house this morning.  The girls and I attended our weekly story hour gathering at the library, and drove back to the house all feeling rather tired (the girls were weary because they missed their morning nap, and I think I’m still recuperating from our busy weekend).  I pulled up the driveway and hit my garage opener, expecting to be able to park in the garage like normal.  Nothing happened.  I tried again.  Nothing happened.  I tried the other garage door.  Again, nothing.  I deduced that our house had lost power, thus rendering the garage doors immobile.  This probably wouldn’t pose a problem for most people, because most people are smart enough to carry a house key with them.  Not me.   

The girls were starting to get whiny in the backseat, and my stomach was grumbling, so I figured I’d head down the road to a local general store to get lunch, by which time the power would surely be back on at the house.  The power was also out at the store, but they were able to slap together some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bagel with cream cheese for us.  I’m thankful I had cash on me, because my credit cards were useless there during the outage.  I didn’t feel like getting sandwich fixings smeared all over the inside of my car, so I sat the girls down at a table out front of the store, and we had a little impromptu picnic, sans bibs and high chairs.  This made for a messier lunch, but a yummy one nonetheless.  Once the girls finished eating, they found great pleasure in walking back and forth along the front stoop of the store, greeting the entering customers with a wave and a hearty “Hi!”  I sat there, finishing my bagel and feeling rather pleased with the morning thus far.  After all, we were making the best of the situation, and the weather was cooperating to give us a nice outdoor lunch. 

The girls eventually were getting too bold for my taste and trying to venture out into the parking lot, so I packed them back into the car and went home to see if our power had returned (nope).  The girls were now even more tired than before, and I was starting to get antsy from needing to use a restroom.  I was desperate enough that I drove down to a park and used an outhouse there (in retrospect, I should have asked at the store to use theirs, but I didn’t think of it until we had already left).  I let the girls run around the grassy field, getting thoroughly muddy because of the puddles from an early morning rainstorm.  After they ran themselves silly, they headed back to the car of their own volition, and we drove back to the house.  Still no power.  It was now almost two hours from when we had first arrived home.  I was feeling decidedly un-adventurous with two kids fussing behind me and I had resolved to drive around until they fell asleep, at which point I would park the car and take a nap myself.  Then a thought dawned on me, and I called my mother-in-law on my cell phone and told her of our plight.  Thankfully, I was able to pick up a key to her house, and let ourselves in.  I think we were all very thankful to be in a house – anyone’s house!  The girls were rejuvenated by all the toys at their Bubba’s house, and so they played for a while until they started to rub their eyes and their ears and yank toys away from each other and I decided it was naptime.  I put them to bed in the port-a-cribs we keep there, and then I promptly laid down on the guest bed and fell asleep.  I woke up when I heard the power come back on, and then waited until the girls woke up and I herded them into the car and back home. 

We were only without power for four hours, but that was enough for me.  I am definitely not an adventurous gal – at least, not when I have two tired, hungry toddlers in tow.  I feel silly that this little hiccup in our routine so thoroughly taxed my patience.  After all, there was no harm done (except for me having to use an outhouse – yuck!).  We simply ended up having an unexpected picnic and romp at the park.  No big deal.  This was nothing compared to the struggles of so many other families.  We are incredibly blessed to have a roof over our heads, power (usually) to our home, indoor plumbing, a pantry stocked with food, a car and gas for travel…the list goes on and on.  I thank the Lord for this little reminder of how richly blessed we are.  I hope I remember that the next time I face a trial, no matter how big or small.  The Lord will provide.