Nothing to See Here…

I got home from my little work jaunt yesterday.  Only not really home because power in my home had been out since Wednesday when the massive storms went through St. Louis. 

My husband picked me up from the airport and we drove, me in awe of how many trees and branches were down all over the place.  It was a mess.

We desperately tried to find a hotel, starting with ones close to our home (ha! what optimists we were then) and finally giving up when a search within a nearly hundred mile radius turned up nothing.  There were rumors that Cape Girardeau may still have a few rooms but it was a long way to drive to risk that not being true.  All my gold status with Marriott and Hilton got me nowhere.

My big sister had power.  In fact, that is where the kiddos stayed the previous night.  However, that was not an option for me since I am very allergic to her cats.  My little sister would have taken us in but she had already taken in a few wayward humans and adding the five of us would have certainly resulted in something bad, slitting of wrists, jumping from roofs, that sort of thing.

My parents had lost power too, but being retired meant they merely jumped into their car and drove to Tunica, Mississippi to do some gambling.  At some point, we called their house and got the answering machine - letting us know their power had been restored even though ours was still out.  We were elated to have somewhere to sleep.

So last night, we slept over at my parents, though they were not home.  And lo and behold, this morning our power is restored!

We’re home, me nursing my rugby injury (no, I’m not kidding) and Bill throwing away hundreds of dollars worth of food and making a run to buy new stuff.

The storm on Wednesday knocked out power to half a million households and businesses.  Even as they began to restore some of it, another storm came and stole away their progress, pushing the number up to six hundred thousand.

It ain’t pretty.

We were lucky enough to have to means to stay in a hotel, had we been able to find one, and family to fall back upon when we didn’t.  We are lucky enough to have the means to replace what has been lost in our refrigerators and freezers. 

Still, as I type this, I cannot stop thinking about the families who cannot replace the food, who had no place to go.  We have our power restored, but I am afraid to turn on the television and watch the local news.

This, truly, was a brutal week in so many ways.  I had been away from home and family since last Sunday and all I wanted to do was come home and even when I was back in my town, I still couldn’t go back to my home.  The tears just wouldn’t stop, the tension and stress was so much.

But it’s behind us now.  I am home.  My kids are just being their regular normal selves.  My husband and I did not murder each other, as it seemed we might last Tuesday.  Once my knee heals, this will all be a distant memory.  Except, of course, I plan to get a few good posts out of the nonsense that occurred throughout this week.

I mean, really…. how does a 41 year old obese woman get a rugby injury while on business travel?

I also spit pomodoro sauce and stained my white blouse sitting across the table from my boss (but it was his fault).

And then there was the tea-bagging discussion that took place over dinner with all fourteen of us: my boss, my peers, and those who report to me. 

It was a hard week.  But now I’m back where I belong - on my ass in the family room with my laptop and wireless network.  Power to the people!