Bonding in the Dark

Yesterday as my family was preparing for the evening’s social events we had a power outage.  The rain was pelting down and the wind was howling.  This was the second time we had had such an outage in our new-old house. 

The first occasion was during a hurricane at the end of the summer.  It was a little scary and it caught us off guard.  We had no water, toilets, telephone, candles etc.  Our neighbour arrived on our doorstep within a few minutes to see that we were ok.  Being that we were new to the neighbourhood and country living, she was worried for us.  She asked us to raid our fridge for anything edible and bring it to her house.  She gathered the neighbours for an incredible feast and evening of fun, laughter, and story telling as we watched the sun go down.  It was a great community evening.  We felt much better as we headed back to our house in the dark and settled down for the night.  We determined then that it was our gentle warning to be prepared for the winter months. 

By the middle of November we had the electricians out to wire the old house for a generator, and we finally purchased one and started preparations for the next outage.  But, we had not primed the generator yet when the final flash of lights went out last night.  We dug out the candles, flashlights and matches, and soon we were sitting in the “parlour”, (it is an old house), deciding which board game we should play, and thanking the heaven’s that the storm was a warm one at ten degrees. 

Our teenage son was whining about not being able to use his X-box, and my daughter put away Facebook.  The television was not a possibility, although with laptop computers we could use the battery power and still watch a movie.  But, that isn’t what living with power is all about.  This was time for us to be together without all the gadgets and gizmos.  The board games came out of the dusty old bins.  In no time, we were laughing and joking and just spending time together.  We were truly connecting as a family.

My son reminded me of another power outage when I had taken him to a dance workshop in Boston when he was twelve.  It was one of our first big dance training trips together.  We landed in Boston and after traversing the subway with all of our luggage for several hours to get to Lexington, we dragged our tired bodies into a restaurant next to the hotel.   We were really enjoying each other’s company as the rain pelted down outside.  As we were finishing our dinner and preparing to pay – the power went out.  There was a room full of dumbfounded people all wondering how they would pay for dinner with no credit card opportunity and cash only becoming the means of paying.  Soon all the tables were talking to each other asking for change for a twenty, and finding change to use for tips.  We met some incredible people that night as we talked and waited for the lights to come back on. 

One couple that we were chatting with were enthralled that we were from Canada and that we were dancing in Lexington.  They offered us a ride in their car to the local grocery store.  Normally I would not make it a habit to jump in a car with a stranger – especially with my son in tow, but it was pouring, we needed a lift, and we had just spent the last 15 minutes in the dark getting to know this couple.  So, with a little apprehension we accepted the offer and off we headed.  The couple was very excited to show off their town, so instead of heading straight to the grocery story they took us on a tour of all the historical spots in Lexington.   In 1860, Paul Revere raced through the countryside on his horse to warn the colonists that the British Army was coming.  We saw sights, talked history and got a great feeling for the place.  They dropped us at the grocery store about an hour later wishing us well.  What started out as an initial evening in a strange town, warmed to a welcoming into the community with history and pride displayed in the incredible hospitality. 

With the invention of electricity our lives have opened up to so many incredible possibilities, and at the same time, our modern dependence on electricity has created some limitations for us too.  It amazes me how people can connect when modern convenience disappears, and how time stands still for those occasions. 

Raised as a city kid, our first power outage on our acreage was a scary occasion.  Now, as we become more prepared to handle the challenges, I do look forward to letting the world fall away with its seeming demands on us.  I look forward to finding memorable moments that we can share as a family, or as a neighborhood, or as a community.  Life has so many wonderful gifts for us when it is just about being together.