>Ok, just a quick note, the kids were great went to bed right on time, soon after returning home from Wed. night church. I was thinking how we should reward them, hugely, for this…..1 am….NO LIGHTS< NO HEAT< NO SANITY…..we were at the mercy of MLGW until just before 2pm yesterday. Durning that time (after each of the children awoke cold, between the hours of 5 am and 8am) we went to a friends home, did school work, ate homemade pancake and chicken nuggets and ramen for lunch. Full of starch and new school work in hand ( I love going through friends school books), we headed to the homefront (leaving one kid behind and exchanging for another one). It was cold, but things were heating up. I love electrical tricks we get over here on my cove…..if electricity is out, we are involved, almost guaranteed. I wonder how my children will remember this week. We have had other weeks with modern conveniences, during the hot, hot summer months and summer storms of memphis. This was our first really cold, long days and nights. Will the remember the funny parts or will the remember me melting down last night after choir practice in the lobby of First Evan, when I ran out of nice? Too much, too big, too loud, that is what everything seemed around me and the kids, the basketball court on the other side of the lobby, the teenagers rushing downstairs so full of their dang youthful joy and I just wanted to yelll "just stop it, be happy, but go away"……it was time for me to go home, go to bed and get warm really, really, warm. I did get warm, in fact about 10 I told my sweet Donnie I thought I could take my extra pair of socks off. Thank you Lord for modern conveniences, that we don't live on the prarie like Laura and that my children are more ammused by insanity at moments in their lives than hurt by it. I hope.
>Out In The Cold
>Late yesterday afternoon, my momma, AKA Marner, was loading my two littles into the car for some special time at her house. The wind was whipping, the trees were scary (we have a long history of tree damage), and the lights went out. I ran the kids in the house explained to them we only had a bit of daylight, to straighten floors and flat surfaces, get the dishes done…..I would not be in the cold dark with a mess. My kids rose to the occasion it was almost a challenge. Daddy arrived with candles and a lighter…..after a few heated rounds of Bannanagrams we were off to the neighborhood Chinese buffet and to pick up the two little ones. For just a moment I thought we should stay the night at my mothers apartment, after all it is cold and our house wasn’t getting heat at the moment. I decided against it, I love my mother, we don’t share small spaces well and the children were already edging on my sensibilities…..off we trekked to our cold dark home. Friends, I witnessed cooperation, yes you heard me right cooperation among my 6 children. We donned candles and a flashlight, gathered blankets and pillows and set everyone up in the living room. There were great plans of reading their books, but alas, there was chatting and yes fussing and giggling for the next hour. Shortly after 9 Donnie announce “lights out”, which takes on a whole new meaning when there is no electricity. We confiscated the flashlight, blew out the candles and we all slept…..well. Did I say well. We slept well, no bed time fight, no trips to the bathroom, no starving to death right now I am going to die, no yelling “please, just stay in bed” every one went to sleep. I have a plan…..Operation Lights Out…..I thought we would hit the breaker every night for a few nights, but Donnie says that waits till March it is too dern cold, but tonight after church we will have quiet…..lights out, tvs off, radios off, books away,washer off….we will sleep. Am I up to the challenge? How will it go with the ability to turn it on…..I don’t know but we shall see. No one hold there breath, but I am excited.
Tell me some of your ideas for sleep and quiet….please.
Gosh, I love sleep and quiet.
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