Little House in the Suburbs

When I was a little kid, I loved reading the Little House on the Prairie books. Even at a young age, I found myself enthralled with a world that was so different from my own. Their lives seemed so simple, so happy, so fun. I wanted to be a part of it. So much so that I wondered whether God had put me in the wrong century. I wanted to chop wood and bake bread and sew my own clothes.

Realistically, I know that if I went back to that period in history I would last about a day. And now that I’m a grown-up, I know better than to long for a place in history different from my own. I was born in the twentieth century and figure I was put in this time and place for a reason. But there are still days when I wish I was Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Last week, I got a little taste of what life would have been like in that time period. No, I wasn’t living in a little house on a barren, windswept plain. But, I was living without power and would for most of the day. It went out early in the morning as I was lying comfortably under our down comforter. The lights flashed and, just like that, our electricity went out. ‘No biggie,’ I thought to myself, ‘It will come back on shortly’. But, after about thirty minutes, it was apparent that the power wasn’t coming on anytime soon.

So at 6:00 in the morning, I scrambled to find a flashlight, which of course was missing from the drawer where it was supposed to be. Ever the resourceful one, my husband found a camping light and hung it from a ceiling fan. It cast a weird, eerie glow but it would have to do until the sun came up.

The second order of business; how were we going to make it through the day without heat?  Thankfully, the switch to our gas fireplace turned the fire on. Pretty soon, we had a warm and cozy spot to contemplate what kind of plans we could make for the day ahead.

We had no TV, I couldn’t do any of the chores on my list without electricity, so the kids and I lay in front of the fire and did something very unusual. We talked. Next, we had game time which didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. Connect Four was a hit for all of two minutes. Then we tried Operation which, even after we’d changed the batteries, didn’t work. Finally, we got out the cards and Jack and I played a viciously competitive game of Go Fish.

When the kids began to get restless, I bundled them up and sent them outside to play. Meanwhile, I tried to figure out how I was going to keep the food in the fridge and freezer from going bad. Buckets of snow seemed like a good way to go, but when I checked the fridge it was barely cool. So I went for option number two; put the fridge food in a Rubbermaid and the freezer goods in a cooler and set them both out in the snow. Worked like a charm. 

After lunch, which was a simple fair, we watched a movie in the car. Since we have a gas range, I was able to cook on the stovetop and made popcorn for a special treat. As the afternoon wore on, I kept hoping that the power would return. Unfortunately, when I listened to the radio, they announced that the power for some would not be turned back on until Saturday morning.

At that point, we were ready to get out of the house. We drove over to the local Godfather’s and commiserated with our fellow neighbors who had also lost power. Again, the reports there confirmed my fears. We would probably not have power for another day.

I headed home determined to make a not-so-good situation into a day of blessing. And, wouldn’t you know it, just as we were preparing a cozy little nest in front of the fireplace, the power came back on. The kids and I did a little happy dance. I turned up the furnace, and, that night, we were able to sleep all snuggled up in our own beds.

While I realize this experience was a far cry from a true little prairie house day, I couldn’t help but feel some kinship with those settlers of old who had none of the modern conveniences we have and seemed to live a full and happy life anyway. All in all, it was a good day. You might even say a great day. So much so, that the next time the power goes out, I’ll be ready, maybe even happy to go without it -  at least for a day. And if that day never comes, I can always make a trip to the basement and cut the power myself. Connect Four, anyone?