There are times when having a good imagination is not a good thing.
My husband took the three older children on an errand last night and I was here with sleeping three-year-old. I was having a nice, quiet, relaxing evening which I sorely needed -- my kids spent the entire day yesterday trying to kill me. Well, not really, but it felt like it. Basking in the peace, I settled in to an evening of Internet surfing when all of a sudden the power went out.
Not a big deal. I lay down on the couch, thinking I'd take a little dose until the power came back, but then my imagination started to work overtime.
What if it wasn't really a blackout. What if a murderer had cut the line to the house and was, at that moment, preparing to come in and murder me?
Okay, as soon as I had the thought, I knew I was being silly. I could plainly see that the neighbors on either side had also lost power. (Unless the murderer planned to kill the whole trailer park, I was fine.) But that didn't keep me from dashing to the door and locking it.
Then I heard a strange beeping noise. I couldn't figure out what we owned that was battery-operated that could beep.
Enough of the darkness -- this was no little blip. I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed the emergency candles and -- amazingly -- found the matches too. With a flick, the room came to life and I wasn't afraid any more.
Back before flashlights, back before halogen bulbs and all the rest, there were candles. Blessed, blessed candles. They require no batteries. They're cheap (I get mine every year at the Wal-Mart after Christmas clearance, 8 inch tapers for a nickle.) They're pretty. They're comforting. They don't glare -- they glow.
I settled in and read by candlelight until my family came home. With the three-year-old double insulated in his bed, life was good.
You know, except for that whole murderer thing.
19 comments:
Easy way to explain your imagnation going wild here.
You are a writer. :D
I used to do that to myself as a teenager.I'd babysit for people and have all sorts of freaky ideas go through my head as I stared out into the dark and imagined all the terrible things that could happen to a teenager watching little children all by herself. I'm really glad the power never did go out during one of those evenings.
Glad there was no murderer!
The last blackout we had, we were having a dinner with 2 of DH's colleagues. The lights went out right after dinner, and right before dessert, so thankfully there was nothing we needed to do besides sit around and eat dessert, which by candlelight is actually kind of nice.
My mind works like yours. I'm sure there were murderers just waiting....the lights probably came back on just in time! ;)
We had a power outage during a blizzard one time and all the power lines were aglow in blue. It was the eeriest thing. I thought for sure we were being taken over by aliens.
Well, I'm glad you're still around to tell the tale! ;)
Oh too funny! I see a short story in there somewhere...
LOL. I think you may have a lot in common with Anne from Anne of Green Gables . . . oh and probably most writers out there!
Glad to see you're still alive Tristi!
I can't tell you how many times I've thought I was about to be murdered...or my kids were trying to kill me. Glad you survived both!
you saying your kids were trying to kill you made me laugh out loud :)
We are having very strong winds here and our power went out last night. Everyone was already tucked into bed and asleep, so it wasn't so traumatic. Then Don looked outside and noticed the street behind us was just fine. Oh, the murderers are here now....getting our entire street! Just kidding. I did think of you and it did eventually come back on. I'm just glad Don wasn't traveling!
Try being without power, only a couple of candles lit, your husband away at work and living in a little house that used to be part of on old motel a few miles out of town on an old back highway!
Talk about a story in the making! hmmm....
Interestingly enough, our power went out last night and was out for several hours, which means no heat and no water. Thankfully, we have a stove in the basement and huddled around it until we fell asleep. The no water issue was a little more interesting--think no flushing!
Hey I had a blackout here too! Don't tell me it went all the way from Alberta down to you!
I'm glad our water was still working -- not being able to flush would be less than jolly.
Murderer thing . . . I'll admit, I got up and locked the deadbolt too. I waited 30 minutes, called my husband and he surfed for a hotel on the internet at work and then came and picked me up. I packed while he was surfing and we were out the door and checking into a hotel 20 minutes after he picked me up. The temp had dropped 6 degrees in my house within 30 minutes, no way was I sticking around. You are made of much heartier stuff than I.
when i was a teen, my mom would have me go to our outdoor freezer to fetch things at night. My imagination always got the better of me. I'd slowly creep out the door into the darkness with the freezer keys and i would start to literally talk to my potential attackers. "I'm just getting a turkey. there's 5 more just like it. Just don't hurt me... i'll even leave the freezer unlocked so you don't have to attack me for them." (this all because it was actually broken into once, i think) Course, i must have been more afraid of my dad finding out that i left it open, because just as i would slowly shut the freezer-door again (of course explaining every move i made) i'd quickly slam the lock shut and bolt to the front-door like my pants were on fire. How funny... i NEVER made the connection between these imaginations and writing before. Thanks for pointing it out. It'll provide more ammusing reminising. :)
I can relate! I get like that too. Double checking the door locks jumping at noises in a quiet house ... oh yeah I can relate! :)
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