Winter is coming!

An unexpected winter storm hit our area which caused havoc in the entire state.  The weather forecast did indicate a possible winter storm coming into our area, but like always, no one paid attention. You see it is very unusual for strong winter storms to hit our area any time of the year. Almost every time it is forecasted, the storm doesn’t make it or moves around our area; therefore, avoiding the brunt of any true winter chaos.  This time, it was not the case, we were hit hard with a devasting cold winter storm that caused catastrophic damage for many of us. Many people lost power, running water, their home’s and even their lives.  I was blessed to be amongst those few that only lost power and was fortunate to still have running water.  The power was out for almost the whole week causing me to be unable to leave the house or be able to get food from anywhere. Of course, I had to resort to my canned and boxed food for substance.  For these days, all I ate was tuna, peanut butter, mixed nuts, ready to eat pasta, canned corn and mushrooms, crackers, Doritos, bean dip, canned ham, and canned vegetables.  These very cold gloomy days made me go into survival mode of eating what was available, making sure the pipes were covered to avoid losing water and ensuring we stay warm.  Thankfully, I had bought some new blankets during Christmas time which came in handy in staying warm.  At home, in order to stay calm and collected through these challenging times, we decided to play board games and cards.  During the evening and early night hours when the temperatures would get colder, I would turn on some candles to create heat as we played the board games and had lanterns by the table to see the board game since it was pitch dark.  In late December, we had lost power for about 2 hours due to a car accident around our neighborhood and we didn’t have a good flashlight and our solar lantern wasn’t working well anymore so I ordered some flashlights, lanterns and reusable batteries so we had the necessary tools for light.  Also, we had battery packs to recharge our phones which allowed us to communicate with family and friends throughout those days.  Right before going into the last day of the week without power, our power was restored, but unfortunately, all our food from the refrigerator and the freezer was spoiled.  Despite this, we were blessed to have electricity to turn on heaters for the following cold nights.  Due to many experiencing outages like I did, it has been a challenge for our grocery stores to get food on shelves therefore, I am still experiencing some difficulty getting food back in the fridge.  I know that sooner than later things will normalize in terms of food.  Meanwhile, I am blessed to be able to get takeout food and still have some tuna and whole wheat pasta, canned corn, mushrooms and vegetables.  I am making the best of a bad situation. 

Life is full of trying times, but I remember that God is always there by my side taking care of me.  Due to losing power in December, I decided to buy flashlights, small lanterns, batteries and blankets which were all necessary during this past week.  Also, my thoughts on keeping some of the canned and boxed food was a feeling that I felt so strongly and now I know why I had that feeling and am so happy that I listened.  God sends us messages and inner feelings for a reason and we must listen closely.  We don’t know what is ahead but God does know and is helping us prepare.  Pay attention, God might be sending you messages. Look for something positive in every day, even if some days you have to look a little harder.  

#Blessed