Good night, Irene, I'll see you in my dreams...

Actually, Irene has been a nightmare.

Our town and our area were told to expect high winds, heavy rain, flooding, downed trees and power lines, and prolonged power outages. We live near the highest elevation in our town, plus we are 1.25 miles from the ocean and not near any of the many lakes, ponds, and streams of this region. Gadget Guy & I were expecting some minor flooding in our yard and possibly the basement, plus a few hours of no power. We were stocked up, we were prepared, and we were going to weather the storm.

It started raining.

Saturday, just an hour after my last post, we lost power at Chez Mominator. The children were excited. We read stories by flashlight and went to bed.

Sunday morning, we woke up to calmness. We were in the eye of Irene. The ground was already soaking up the puddles. The sump pump handled the leaking window. The sun started peaking out. We had Survived.

Although the power was still out, we discovered that the gas hot water heater was still working and the burners on the stove would work once lit by match. Showers and coffee were possible. Children were fed a nutritious breakfast. Life went on.

We decided to go to Church. We were ready to go to Mass by candlelight, just like Easter Vigil. We were prepared to serve (two Altar Servers and one Eucharistic Minister) if needed. We navigated around the down trees and flooding. We arrived at Church. We looked around. We were the only ones there. Perhaps the priests were afraid to venture across the street from the rectory?

We went home. I made tacos for lunch. We had a lovely day of board games and laughter.

Monday we were still without power. Police said it may be “a couple of days.” We were doing OK. But we were real careful with food in the fridge, as the fridge was not that cold any more. We got a call from the town Emergency Preparedness Office: ice and water were available at ShopRite. The Mominator jumped for joy. Gadget Guy was immediately dispatched to store. Gadget Guy found no ice, but received a look that said “how could you even imagine that we had ice?”

Tuesday morning we were still without power. Food was in serious danger. Batteries were running low on electronic devices. Mount Washmore was growing to massive proportions. Children were restless. We were getting Concerned.

On Tuesday afternoon, our next door neighbor and the across the street neighbor got power (and all the other neighbors east down the block). We all jumped for joy. Surely our half, the west side of the street, would be getting power soon? Gadget Guy called JCP&L and spoke with a very nice lady. She said that we would have power by 9. We weren’t sure if that was AM or PM, but it was Soon. Gadget Guy would be back to work at home by tomorrow. We all jumped for joy again. Relief was in sight.

Wednesday morning 9 AM came and went, and we were still without power.

Gadget Guy decided it was time to be Pro-active. He called JCP&L to report our outage, again. He spoke to Someone In Charge. He got a case number. He asked for a timetable. JCP&L could not assure us of power restoration until the weekend or early next week.

Gadget Guy needs power to work. He could no longer work from home. He could not get to the office. Trains are not running from Trenton, which he would take to Philly.

It was time to make a Decision. It was time to go to a Hotel. We grabbed our pre-packed suitcases. We fed the critters. We threw out a bunch of food. We were rejoining Civilization!!

We just checked into a hotel. Cha-ching!! Gadget Guy plugged in his gadgets. He was online, he was working, he was happy. I took the kiddos to the pool to keep them out of his hair for some relaxation.

The Lady across the street texted me that our front light was on. I called home and the answering machine picked up. Woo-hoo!! We were back on the grid.

The Gadget Guy wanted to head back home right away. We called the front desk and they said there would be no refunds or discounts.

The Mominator realized there would be Mount Washmore to tackle, loads of dishes to wash, and a fridge to be decontaminated. Who wants to rush home to that? Besides, the room rate included free breakfast in the morning, giving me one last chance to enjoy a meal without having to cook or do dishes. Plus, the kiddos were having fun.

It was time to make an Executive Decision. The Mominator decided (and over-ruled dear Gadget Guy) that we might as well enjoy our night out. We’ll take Bumblebee to school in the morning. Gadget Guy can go home early and get back to work at home. The Mominator will gather the girls (maybe sneak in one last swim) and come home a little later.

Once we got home, I cleaned out the fridge after 4 days without power. I may never eat again. Meanwhile, I just put the 10th load of laundry into the washer, 9th load in the dryer, and loads 1-8 are folded and put away. I’d rather do 20 more loads of laundry than deal with an icky fridge any day.

Gadget Guy reports: We alerted the authorities that our fridge may represent a new alien life form. The CDC has begun airlifting hazmat teams to begin sample collection, initial decon and perimeter demarc for evac. They’re even designing a new biohazard icon just for us.