Well, I guess it wasn't exactly the Great Blackout of 2007 being as it never even made the news nor newspaper as to what happened. Luckily for us, we were prepared with a fire in the fireplace in anticipation of a cozy Friday night at home. I was in the process of removing my contacts when suddenly the light blinked and then went out. My six year old panicked, my 2 year old started laughing, my husband went into emergency response mode, and, I stood there in the pitch black with a contact lens perched precariously on my finger. After hoping that my contact found it's way into my lens case, I made my way down the hall to the living room. I lit all the candles on the mantle and assessed the situation. No electricity. The whole neighborhood was dark. Cosme went out and talked to the neighbors. Made sure everyone had a flashlight. I stayed with the boys while they held vigil at the window awaiting his return
. After all the hoopla wore off, we settled in for a very quiet and dark Friday night. The boys sat on the couch while Cosme read them the latest installment of Lego's Knight's Adventure. I cuddled up on the chair armed with a flashlight and read my book. But as I sat there feeling like Laura Ingalls Wilder (albeit a warm Laura Ingalls Wilder, as we have a gas furnace) I couldn't help but think of how they lived without electricity and all the comforts of what we know as home. One of the things that struck me the most was not so much the lack of lights, but the lack of communication. As I sat there with my family, I realized why families were so close. There was no other form of communication except writing a letter. Or maybe in a rare emergency, the telegraph. It was simple back then. You were with who you were with and there were no distractions. No cellphoning someone while you were plowing the fields. No shooting off emails while you waiting for the bread to rise. No lamenting the fact that you had sooo many phone calls to return while bathing the baby.....in a big pot......in the middle of the one room house.....
Anyway, the only time you talked to a person was when you were facing them on the off chance that you saw them, or when you had methodically made plans to meet them. That was it. Those were the only two options. I find it fascinating to ponder how far we have come when it comes to communicating with each other. But I can't help but think that since it is so easy for us....do we take it for granted that we are able to talk to each other with a push of a button or keyboard key? Do we really listen to each other when we are distracted by cell phone calls and emails we need to return? Sometimes I think the plethora of ways TO communicate has taken away the ABILITY to communicate.
As I sat there all snuggled up with my family I realized how much more relaxed I was without the tug of my self imposed to do list. I wasn't able to do any of it. And that was ok. Maybe we need to have blackouts more often.
