That was... Fun

 We had a power outage. Not your regular “Oh no! The power is out in the neighborhood!” It was an “Oh no! The power is out in the entire Country!”

I have never experienced an outage that affected the entire nation and many other parts of Europe. It is eerie when one looks outside and there are no lights... anywhere. It lasted all night and into late the next evening. School was canceled for the day and most offices and stores were closed. Power off base was finally restored at approximately 10 pm.

The most horrible thing to happen, according to my children anyway, there was no TV or internet! Horror of horrors! Fortunately for them, no other school had electricity so all the neighborhood children were home and they all remembered there was an outside to play in that needed no power beyond their own.

For me, I made myself comfortable on a bench and did something I do not often do, read a book. Not my normal fare, but a “Historical Fiction” novel called “All the Light We Cannot See.” It is interesting so far. It is also easier to read than my usual fare.

The base recovered sooner since they have power generators of their own. It is a good thing they do else a carrier would have returned with little fanfare. There was also the convenience of hot food being available for us in limited amounts.

In all, the night and day proved to be a blessing in disguise. As a family we rediscovered how to be a family independent of electronics and other distractions. We discovered that we can, in fact, have fun playing board games,  and wrestling with each other (well, them and Jared. Their mother does not wrestle well).

I will be sure to not forget the lessons of a power outage.