This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Shedding Some Light on the Blackout

What happens when the power goes out? More than you think.

We’ve all heard of the horror stories that happened during the massive Hurricane Irene blackouts and perhaps many of you have your own tale to tell but my family and I were part of the lucky few that never lost power. We served as a universal charging port, welcoming our power-less friends to come reboot and enjoy access to wi-fi. It was nearly impossible for me to imagine the way of life these people were now expected to endure.

Then, the Snowtober Storm pounded us with the fluffy white stuff and caused even more widespread power outages throughout the area. At about 4pm Saturday evening, after hearing several alarming sounds outside, our beloved power was gone for what could be seemingly forever. My brother and I joined our parents and were now all sitting in.. gasp..the SAME room. While my mother rushed to accomplish some housework before the sun set, I hurried to dig up candles and board games- a move that received a number of moans and groans amongst the family. My brother paced back and forth complaining that the soup had not yet been cooked and my father laid on the couch in his usual position keeping his gaze on the TV hoping it would suddenly restore its picture and allow him to continue looking at watches on the shop at home network. An hour into the powerless lifestyle and an outsider would certainly look at our behaviors and label us unstable. “At least we all took showers today,” my mother said to point out any possible positives of the situation.

The sun eventually set and my family gathered on the couch and made fun of each other while I used reverse psychology to trick them into playing the ridiculed board games. After I dominated in the 759th round of Taboo, pausing only to laugh, we broke into the stash of blankets to fight off the unavoidable chill that was taking over our house. The clock… or cell phone screen-- since the clocks still held the distant time symbolizing when we were free to use electronics, suddenly read 7:15pm.  This is the time I have my nightly cup of coffee. Realizing this, I approached the coffee maker—thinking that at least I could have an iced coffee to get my fix—and was devastated to see that our coffee maker was on E. We had hit an ultimate breaking point. I didn’t have coffee, my brother didn’t have soup- something had to be done.

Find out what's happening in Shelton-Derbywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

My brother was determined. He was going to make the trek through the snowy streets covered in tree limbs to find the ‘golden arches.’ My mother, who doesn’t allow anyone to drive if there’s a single flurry in the air, was in support of the trip under one guideline- my father had to join him. Now, I don’t know what other people consider a milestone in a relationship but this was building up to be a memorable father-son bonding trip. While they were off on their adventure my mother and I played another classic game, Rack-O, to pass the time. Soon they were home from their gallivanting and we all devoured the food as if it had been days since we had been blessed with a hot meal.

Life was becoming hard and our Smartphone batteries were depleting at a rapid place. How would we survive in this lifestyle? “I can’t believe this is happening to me!” cried my mother just minutes before the most magical moment occurred. The lights turned on and seemed 15x’s brighter than they ever shined before.

Find out what's happening in Shelton-Derbywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Well, what happened next? My brother decided he was too full to cook his soup, my mother decided it was too late to actually do any housework and got ready for bed, my father reclaimed his whole side of the couch and watched TV in 5  minute increments between signal losses and I sat there, reflecting on the strange events of the night.

So we lost power for 5 whole hours. As a result we were forced: to play games that required higher level thinking rather than watching the TV, to relax and take a break from chores and housework and to come out of our private rooms to enjoy each other’s company. While the power outages have caused much stress to others I was fortunate enough to experience a break from the isolation that technology can create and managed to remember why I love my family so much.

Though my experience was an ultimately pleasant one, I am sure that if we were ‘in the dark’ much longer tension would build and the joy would fade away. I hope everyone who has been affected by the outages has fared well and found a new appreciation for the little moments in life that we often times overlook. I know that now my whole family can all agree on one thing: McDonald’s coffee is really not bad at all.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?