Enjoying life even in "dark" times
Thursday evening at around 6.00pm the storm hit Wellington - gale force southerlies (from Antarctica) bringing torrential rain, freezing temperatures and scary gusts that shook the house.
Apparently the wind reached 200 kmph which is 3x gale force as defined by the NZ Metservice and was the worst storm to hit Welly in 45 years. No wonder it was scary.
The bus stop is 2 minutes from my house but by the time I got into my house that evening I was soaking wet. Even my thick New York winter jacket didn't help to keep me dry or warm.
And then at around 1.00am the power went out and we had 18 hours of no power in freezing temperatures.
I had to go into work just to charge up my phone in case we were stuck without power for sometime. There was carnage everywhere. Huge trees had toppled blocking roads, roofs ripped off houses - unbelievable I was stunned to see them strewn around and the wind was just horrendous but at least the rain had eased up a bit. The temperature however was still freezing.
Then my house alarm decided it wanted to join in the drama so went on the blink and started screaming. I had to rush home and call an electrician to re-set it.
Yesterday (June 21) was the shortest day of the year so it got dark so early. By about 5.00pm we were in darkness.
So there we sat in our lounge with our trusty little lamp giving us a little light and the gas heater (thank goodness for that) giving us some heat.
And then I started to laugh - after all the drama and whinging, I suddenly saw the funny side of it all and embraced the moment. Humour saved the day, we laughed at how the 3 of us sat there silent, listening to the sound of the wind, wrapped up in blankets and resting peacefully while we waited for the lights to come on.
It gave us all a chance to look at life differently and it certainly taught us the art of patience. "Make hay while the sun shines" took on a whole new meaning.
So rather than complain, we just soaked in the darkness and the sound of the wind and enjoyed the time given to us for a little bit of rest.
And strangely, these are the moments I do want to remember - they remind me that we do survive and adapt even in uncomfortable and unexpected situations. Friends just rally around and provide comfort even if it's through a text or two. Thank goodness for mobile phones and 3G coverage that kept us connected.
18 hours after the power went out, we got it back again. Oh the joy! And just so relieved and grateful that there was no damage to my house or in fact to any in my street. Thank You Lord.
And here is my little lamp that gave us a little bit of light and comfort. Helped us
enjoy life in those dark moments. (
June photo a day prompt for day 22 - enjoying life)
And here are some stormy pictures
(taken from the TV One and TV Three News Videos)
waves rose 15meters at Days Bay
car park
Katherine Mansfield's beach home - KM was a NZ writer born in 1888.
Supermarket sign crashed to the ground - one of my neighbouring suburbs
Petone railway tracks
Linking to:
A single photo capturing a moment
A simple, special, extraordinary moment
A moment I want to pause, savour and remember
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