Warmth

Martha S. would have been proud of the neat labeling of all cords.

Generators that made all bearable.

Ice looked like diamonds against the blue sky.

'Viking' Elliptical cooker that was our main cooking source.

Hard situations brings out the worst in people for a variety of reasons -- fear, ignorance, panic to name a few. But, it also brings out the best in many folks and I was able to see that daily during this ice storm ordeal.

Once people realized that we were without power extending into the weekend, we received several invitations to use their showers. Some of these folks have 8-12 "guests" in their homes so it did mean a lot to us that they would extend their warmth to us.

Of all people, my mother-in-law, came to the house on Wednesday. You have to know ,I have not seen her in over 4 years. Lots of background that would be inappropriate to get into. Upon realization that she was in the car, I panicked, "4 years, and she picks today to come down?" But, I quickly recovered as she walked in. She truly was concerned for us and wanted to ride down with father-in-law Jim who was delivering another generator and fuel to us. They both were shocked at how cold it was even with a fire and the rigged furnace. The yellow cord tentacles were a shock to both as well. I laughed and said, "Sorry you couldn't visit under better circumstances." We all laughed. A visit from both of them was an hour of talking that took my mind off of the situation. As they were getting ready to leave, they begged us to come up and stay, with the dogs, and get away from this house. David nipped it right there, "We're not leaving the outside pets." But, the geniune expression of concern and help was warming.

Most of all, David was a source of warmth. He worked tirelessly to ease my fears. Many times I told him was fine, and I was, but he kept on. I really think checking the generators, all plugs, the water jugs helped him through this. Every morning he left to refill water jugs, get fuel, check the office to see if power was restored. Never a harsh word to me or the dogs; however, he did grow weary of fueling the generators and let everyone know it. I wanted to learn how, but he said, "outside work is mine, inside stuff is for you." And, that's how it went. The most touching thing was the rigged "Hot Tap" shower. The car battery outside the bathroom was so funny. But, you know, the shower was steamy hot. By Thursday-Friday, if I closed my eyes, things seems somewhat normal because of his tireless work to "make sure I was comfortable." The Hot Tap even worked in the kitchen and I was able to wash the dishwasher load that I didn't get to run the week before. Sunday was 54 degrees, with the warm dish water and the breeze coming through the window, I closed my eyes and imagined a lovely day in mid-March. I had to open my eyes though and view reality, a Hot Tap hose running through the window.

My husband's acts of love, daily, kept my spirits up and moved me forward to the next day. I, in turn, told him how much this meant to me, hugged him every time he walked through the door, and joked as much as possible to make him laugh. I worked to provide fairly normal meals. The whole 'food is pleasure' was true those 6 days. We talked in the mornings about what to lay out for dinner that night. In the afternoon, we discussed cooking methods. While cooking in the evening, we talked about side dishes. It really helped us cope.

We looked for people that we could assist, and was able to provide one family with a generator. Warmth from love was so helpful those long six days.

The internet was down yesterday. The phones were also in horrible shape. No problems this morning so I don't know if I can post tomorrow. If I can, I will tell you about the neighbors, Amish neighbors...