Hey there again, friends!
OH, THE NEWS I HAVE.
It looks like light, bright bright light. It sounds like a fan blowing, a refrigerator humming, music playing.
That’s right.
It’s POWER, baby. (Well, it’s electricity. The real power is in us, you know.)
This miracle occurred last night. We drove home after a long day of doctor visits, x-rays, and errands. I was feeling depressed about not being able to light up a Christmas tree…
The neighbors were out in the road, talking. We stopped to find out what was going on. “Power back on. Tonight or tomorrow,” they said.
What????
We sat outside on the driveway and watched the AEE workers doing their amazing, hard work at the end of the road. I went inside, using a solar lamp to light my way upstairs to the bathroom… and came back down to lights! lights! lights! and cheers from the whole street.
That’s right, I was in the bathroom for this miraculous moment of life.
Last night we slept with air conditioning on. Today we drank cold water from the refrigerator. Our refrigerator currently houses cold water, fruit, and rum. And about a dozen empty water jugs. Nothing like getting back to basics to see where your priorities lie. Ours, apparently, are divided between cold water and fruity rum drinks. NOT FOR THE KIDS. Geez. What kind of person do you think I am? No rum for the children. They prefer vodka.
ALSO KIDDING.
I’m slightly delirious, maybe, from all the cold water? I’ve gotten used to room temp, tepid water. This cold water’s got me happy and relaxed. Go have a glass of cold water. You’ll feel more tranquil about everything.
So, I guess, life is back to normal? Except for this: normal’s never been an aspiration of mine. And this: you can’t go back. You can’t. You’re always going forward, one way or another. You’re learning, I’m learning, we’re all in this together, each in our own experience but collectively sharing something pretty amazing, that we casually call life.
Tonight let’s recognize it for what it is. I don’t have words for what it is. The adjectives fall short. What would you call it, this life, this daily small miracle we hold in our stardust hands?
I’m glad to be alive together.
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By the way, in my time without the distractions of power and Internet, I started writing fiction (again) (finally). I’ve posted some, if you’d like to read it. (Click on Stories in the top bar.)