Well, once again, Thanksgiving has come and gone. This was not our ordinary Thanksgiving though. Today was full of normal stress & chaos, and some not so normal stress & chaos. Here is a time line of our day.
6:30 a.m. I wake to the sound of Ann on the phone (talking to Duke Energy) and I notice the electric is out.
6:35 a.m. Ann is off of the phone and we are told electric won't be on until 10:30 a.m.
7:00 a.m. Turkey should be going in the oven now, but still no electric.
9:35 a.m. Tension is high and Ann & I begin to argue. Still no electric.
10:35 a.m. We are now in "MacGyver" mode. We begin to cook the turkey on our gas cooktop. Still no electric.
11:00 a.m. ELECTRIC IS ON! Something to be thankful for.
1:15 p.m. Turkey is cooking. My family arrives. Electric is still on. Finally feeling normal.
2:15 p.m. WHAT THE? Electric is off again. Turkey is only half cooked. Haven't even started baking the side dishes yet.
2:35 p.m. Ann's family arrives. Ann's mom mentions they saw the electric company replacing a pole. Hope that doesn't take long.
3:00 p.m. ELECTRIC IS ON AGAIN! Please God, let it stay on. We have to eat at 4:00.
4:00 p.m. Electric is still on. Turkey is done! As well as all of the fixins. Time to eat!
4:15 p.m. Electric is still on. Grace has been said. People are eating. A lot to be thankful for.
5:00 p.m. Electric is still on. My family has to head back to Columbus.
6:00 p.m. Electric is still on. Football is done. I feel fat. Ann's family decides to leave.
Current time. I just finished a slice of pie and now I feel extremely fat. Time to rub my wife's feet and fall asleep on the couch. The Electric is still on, and this one is in the bag.
I just wanted to add, that I am very thankful for the folks at Duke Energy who sacrificed their day to respond to the call. I once had a position that required that of me. I was active with the US Air Force when my unit was called to Desert Shield/Storm back in 1991. It's people like that, we should be thankful for. We take so much for granted in this country, and the sad thing is that we think we deserve it. I was sitting on my couch thinking last night about all of the people in the world who don't have heat. Who don't have electric. Who don't even have family to gather with on a holiday, or any other day of the year. That, my friends, is a lot to be "Thankful" for. I fell victim to the stress of no electricity yesterday. I so very quickly forgot about those things that we take for granted. I so very quickly forgot about my trip to Honduras to serve those who have nothing. As I was sitting here with my kids, watching Charlie Brown on T.V., God was reminding me of all of these things. He was convicting me to do it better next time. And there will be a next time. There always is a storm on the horizon. Next time, I will be prepared. When I'm sitting here in the dark, I will be reminded of all that I take for granted and that I should be truly thankful for. Peace!
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