Thankful Thursday: Power Outtage

This might sound a little strange, but today I am thankful for the power going out. It was only out for about 4 hours but it gave me some time to notice things I haven't given much attention to lately. I am, of course, thankful for electricity. I did have a whole chicken cooking in the crock pot, a dehydrator full of jerky that wasn't getting done, laundry to do, a dishwasher stuck in mid-cycle, and the list goes on and on... but I do feel blessed to have so many tools that normally help me accomplish many things at once.

Since it was cold at home, I thought it would be good to run some errands. That's when I realized that I am not only thankful for a garage but an automatic garage door opener. I got it open really easily but getting it to stay up and pull my car out turned out to be not so easy...?

Then I decided that I would get some lunch going & really missed my stove. It gets a ton of usage around here. I wanted something warm to eat, so I ended up firing up the grill. Thank goodness for the grill and even more so, for my sweet husband who had the propane tank filled up last Saturday!

By this point, I found myself going through my emergency preparedness mental check list. I checked on how much water we have on hand. I looked into available lighting options in case the power was still out in the evening. I felt good about the food storage we have, along with our 72-hour kit(s) & a generator we bought a couple of months ago. I couldn't help but think of friends & neighbors who might need help if the power was out much longer (those with small children, on oxygen, etc.). It made me grateful for the small ways we've tried to be prepared for even these small "emergencies" that happen.  

Having electronics & the internet less functional definitely made making quality time with my little boy easier. I enjoyed having the time to soak in all his sweet smiles and laughter. He's just starting to crawl and I loved playing with him all over the floor. We sang songs, read books, and played "games." In looking for more options of activities to do together, I realized that we couldn't even play the piano without electricity since it only works with the power on. I'm thankful for an imagination to find fun things to do on a cold, power-less day. I think my son enjoyed it and I really loved his warm snuggles!

I could go on for a while but will spare you :) There are so many small conveniences that makes our lives very comfortable. We are so blessed. I hope you found a couple of things to be thankful for today! 

Still cutting back on the fast food? Even with the power out, I haven't eaten out yet so far this week and I've got some great meals planned for the next couple of days that I'm really excited about (pumpkin gluten-free enchiladas being one of them, which will be posted tomorrow)! Are you enjoying the additional home-cooked meals this week? What has been your favorite?