Back in February, there was a day that was REALLY cold and there were planned rolling blackouts across Texas. These were supposed to last 15 minutes or so at a time. Well, ours went off around 7 or 7:30 (can’t remember now), and stayed off for several hours! The temperature started a dropping in the house. We ended up layering clothes and putting jackets on IN THE HOUSE! Of course, neither will stay under blankets. After it was off for a couple of hours, we decided to venture out to warmer areas. I at least knew the heater worked in the car. We went to the mall, and they were conserving energy there, so it wasn’t real warm in there. Then, the electricity completely went off there! So, we headed over to good ole Chick-fil-a. Apparently, many people had this same idea! It was busy and warm in there. We had a great time and Stephen met up with us, as the power at his work had been coming on and off all morning, too. Of course, the electricity went off at CFA as well. HA! But, at least we were about to leave anyway. It actually only stayed off for 5 minutes or less, so it wasn’t a big deal. When we got home (5 hrs since our power had gone off), it was back on and was still chilly, but warming up nicely. Our neighbors happened to be at CFA as well, and she said it had come on a little bit before (so, I think it was out for about 4 hrs). I think the “rolling” in our area got stuck! I had some friends who were without for over a day.
Despite all of that, I couldn’t stop thinking about those that didn’t even have a HOUSE to live in, much less ELECTRICITY! We are so blessed, yet we often still complain! I remember coming back from Haiti and Africa in college and getting so mad when people around me would start complaining about this or that. I wanted to yell at them and tell them that they had NO IDEA how blessed they were and had NO RIGHT to complain about ANYTHING! Â We still eventually fall back into the mindset of thinking we have some RIGHT to a good life and certain “things.” Don’t know where we ever got that idea…
Sorry, not sure where that soapbox came from. Anyway…here’s a few pictures of my kids all bundled up in the house. They were happy as could be!
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| Cold Day, No Electricity |