Well, well, well… we are back! And what an adventure it has been while we were gone. And by gone, I mean off grid, reduced to our roots, knocked out and defeated. There was no mittonmusings blog post last week, not because we were not musing… but because we were offline and incommunicado! Country living notwithstanding, we, along with several of our neighbours and community at large, got our power knocked out in a giant ice storm last week. The ice, combined with high winds made our little forest sound and look like a war zone. I was out tending to the chickens, and all you could hear was cracking and the crash of giant tree limbs ripping from their trunks and smashing to the ground. The cedar hedge surrounding our property had tree tops bending so far down, they were blocking our sidewalks. Power lines were knocked out and we were, once again, in the dark.

Now, the dark doesn’t bother me so much. I’m happy to hunker down by the wood stove and throw an extra blanket on. Water, however, is another story. When the well pump goes out and we don’t have water, let alone hot water, I get a bit more grumpy. And the spring thaw adds to the mess and the sump pump works overtime and can’t keep up with the seepage and your basement is wet. Water, but in all the wrong places. By day three, we went in to visit the grand baby and have showers. Buckets of pond water flushed our toilets. How a simple thing like clean drinking water makes all things beautiful. Remember that when the third world countries cry for help at Christmas!

In fact, the hubby and I had been chatting about a generator since last year… after the power went out this time, the hubby headed out after church and bit the bullet. Extension cords snaked through the living room. The heater unplugged and coffee plugged in. (Both required too much juice). Who’s phone charger was this? Oh, I wish I had water instead of brushing my teeth in a cup filled with spring water from the community center’s filled bucket! By day three or four (they all started blending together…) we caved in even more and hooked up a switch in the basement… the well pump was back up and running! I had the best bath I have ever had! Steaming from head to toe!

By day five and a half, we were back online and thankful. The hubby got to learn a lot about electricity and generators. We bonded with our neighbours and ate way too many carbs. We had something good to chat about for the next week. Yet, more than anything, we were grateful. Grateful for Hydro One workers, grateful for each other, grateful that no one was hurt, etc. etc. etc. As with many storms in the past, we see community come together in a crisis and human nature begins to blend into a single living unit, taking care of one another and assisting as best we can. I’m still seeing posts about neighbours helping neighbours clearing debris and assisting in the “catch up and clean up”.

Realistically, our short period of “inconvenience” really was a first world problem. No internet? Not a crisis. We could access fresh water. We were not starving. We weren’t smelling great, but we went to work, we drove our cars, we ate. I mused: “God’s just up there reminding us He is still in control… thinking you’ve got it all together? Here, let’s throw in a little ice and wind… or a tornado, or tsunami… A small mudslide just to remind you Who’s the Great I Am? Yup, that would still be ME!” says God. And so, I remain grateful, and humbled, and adequately reminded -again- that He’s still in control.

Isaiah 45 reminds us that we should be humbled when situations like this arrive. Who should question God and His actions? He flung the stars into space… and will down a thousand trees if He wants to. The storm on the sea, reacts in check to His words. How much more should we mere humans react to – dare I say – political slandering or big talk from pious leaders? We learned in our small group last week that words are powerful. They are for sure! We can build up one another or tear one another down simply by speaking. Like a layer of ice on the mighty oaks in our forest, heaps of discouraging words can weaken and break us. Finally, when a little more wind comes along to shove us over the threshold, we finally snap.

There’s so much to unpack after such a country catastrophe. The musings keep coming and I’m not sure this post actually settled on one theme. Still, my beloved readers have grown accustom to my ramblings, haven’t you? Let’s just settle on retelling the latest adventure out here and the consequences… or maybe the pleasures that have returned… like hot steamy baths. And we’ll just go from there, okay? Come back for more in the coming weeks when the hubby gets to try out his new chain saw. I’m sure I will have choice words to say about that!