In case you haven’t heard, Hurricane Irma ripped through our sunshine state this past weekend, leaving a mess of debris, downed power lines, and fallen trees. While we waited for the winds to subside the following morning, families all over woke up to see the aftermath. Some stood horrified, staring at gaping holes through the ceiling while others stood ankle deep in water throughout their home. Some watched the news flash pictures of their home fallen in the ocean or flood waters up to their roof. It was awful.
Many were fortunate and only suffered minor first-world problems like no a/c or hot foods. My family fell into that category. We waited that first day for the waters to recede and helped who we could.
My kids thought this experience a great adventure, the boys building forts with fallen tree limbs and the girls washing dishes in a bucket of water. I came across a filled plastic bowl and my daughter winked proudly, “We gathered green acorns for the winter so we don’t get hungry.”
She’s a big fan of Little House on the Prairie books and power outages held great appeal for the first 90 minutes. Green acorns? I’m glad she wants to live off the land but I’m not sure how to cook green acorns.
While I’m sure I won’t learn that sustaining food goal this year, we did learn 10 other things we take for granted–
1. Air conditioning–how did they manage working outside all day in the heat and then sitting in a hot home all evening? Oh that’s right–they didn’t live in Florida!
2. Hot showers–heat makes the smells stronger. Just sayin’.
3. Hot foods–I’m all about that grilled food but sometimes a microwave is nice.
4. Hot coffee or tea–I hear my pumpkin spice chai tea calling my name…
Do you see a pattern here? We like all things hot except our air.
5. Electric stove (For future reference, I’m investing in a gas range). Because…pasta!
6. Running water–and I don’t mean the fast flowing water running through the creeks right now.
7. Washing machines–and dryers. Clean clothes, anyone?
8. Endless fuel at the pumps–do you know I almost died at the gas station a few days before the hurricane arrived? Ok, not really, but people are passionate about their fuel and water.
9. Fast food–I hated McDonald’s before now but I could really go for a cheeseburger and French fries right now.
10. Dishwashers–my girls added this because the bucket of water lost its appeal after the 12th cereal bowl.
Did I miss anything? What conveniences do you take for granted?
Did Hurricane Irma affect you? We want to hear your stories! Email them to thefarmwyfe@aol.com.
***If you suffered damage, our hearts go out to you. We continue to keep everyone in the islands, the state of Florida, and up into Georgia and the Carolinas who is still experiencing and recovering from the aftermath in our prayers.
