our little storm chaser

well last night was adventurous.  here's how it went down.  in the evening we went out front to let ever play like usual.  she's splashing around in water and playing with toys.  i notice ominous clouds building around us but they seemed so far away and the sun was shining.  within minutes thunder gets louder and before you know it there is a full on downpour.  ever kept fighting us because she was determined to stay out in the wild weather.  we decided to open the front door and let her watch from there.  i could see our girl being a storm chaser in the future.  i told will how when i was her age i would've been clinging to my dad full of fear during a storm like that because that is what i always did.  the three of us stood there and watched our road become a river that was washing up into our front yard.  as most summer storms are this one came on fast and furious but it was lasting longer than most of them do.  the thunder and lightning got more intense.  all the while we had to keep pulling ever back in the house because she wanted to run out in it.  then the electricity went out.  no big deal because that happens sometimes with these crazy storms.  will turned the couch around to face the front door.  ever and i cuddled up under a blanket watching all the craziness while will was calling work because he's on call and everything was going crazy there with the power outage.  usually he can fix most things from home connecting to work on the computer but of course that wasn't going to happen with the power out and driving conditions weren't so great.  he tried to fix a few things over the phone but even his phone was acting up.  i realized i only had 5% battery left on my phone so i wasn't able to call or text anyone back because i was saving that 5% for an emergency.  i figured our electricity would be back on soon since it rarely stays out long but an hour passed and still nothing.  it was getting dark out at this point.  we did what several of our neighbors were doing and went out front to wait for the electricity to come back on.  ever happily splashed around in her rain boots.  i supervised her.  will kept trying to fix work problems.  when it got really dark we went back in and lit all the candles we could find.  that is when i realized we really aren't prepared for any kind of emergencies.  we didn't have many candles.  we could only find one working flashlight.  ever was hungry and there wasn't much for me to offer her.  i got a couple snacks for her and we camped out on the couch.  it was then that i remembered an incident several years prior which was similar to this but out at my moms house.  during that power outage that lasted around 4 hours i cuddled up with the dogs on the couch and took a nap with my sweet brulé.  it was then that i realized that as inconvenient as these moments are they can make for good memories.  will was in and out of the house trying to get decent cell phone reception to deal with work issues so it was mainly ever and i braving the dark silent evening on our own.  i was totally impressed with how she handled it.  she didn't get upset at all.  she sat there singing songs and we laughed together and i realized this was one of those memory making moments that i'll talk about years from now in a remember when sort of way.  as it got close to 10pm and there was no sign of power returning we realized will had yet to eat dinner.  the house was feeling too stuffy for my liking and we weren't sure how to proceed with bedtime rituals so we left to get will dinner and enjoy the air conditioned vehicle.  as we drove through town we noticed some of the damage the storm did.  it was convenient we left when we did anyway because will ended up having to stop by work.  it was past 10:30 when we made it back towards home and noticed ever was passed out in her car seat and power was still out on our side of town.  i did my best to get her and i ready for bed by candlelight and flashlight...taking care of just the basics.  i set her in bed next to me while will continued to deal with work related things.  ever was super restless and not calming down at all.  it was past 11pm at this point....past both of our bedtimes.  i was lying there thinking how i felt like i was suffocating because the house was so hot.  in my mind i was making elaborate plans to go sleep in the running car with the air conditioning on.  no air conditioning in my super pregnant state during the middle of summer seemed against the law.  just then around 11:20pm the power came back on and i felt so thankful for electricity.  we did ever's usual bedtime routine and she fell asleep easily then will and i finally tucked ourselves in around midnight.  it was an adventure for sure.