In the Dark...

The lights went out today. I should say the electricity went out. Growing up, my parents always referred to the electricity bill as the light bill. I never really understood why they did that when I was young, because when I finally had to pay my own "light" bill, it definitely wasn't only a bill just for the lights. Anyway, today was a no lights day here in Central Maine. Lots of rain, snow, sleet, and wind took it away from us not once, but twice. It went out at 9am and came back on at 3:30pm. Then went out at 5pm and came back on at 7:15pm. It is on now, but who knows. My two oldest, Mr. Smarty Pants and Girly Girl, went crazy. Mr. SP wrote on Facebook when the electricity came back on, that now he could resume life. Really??! At supper time, my hubby got the wood stove going good, and I put a package of hotdogs in a pan, and we pulled the ketchup and mustard from the dark frig, and ate at the semi-dark table lit with a few candles. I was really enjoying it! No noise except Little Man talking to the dog. Girly Girl was laughing and joking with her daddy, and Mr. SP got his guitar out and played a few songs, including Amazing Grace. The house smelled of slightly charred hotdogs and mandarin scented candles. I sat there at the table, eating my hotdog, while watching out the window, a sliver of the moon peek in and out behind a cloud. I loaded the dishwasher, enjoying not having to see the grimy dishes as I did so. I was getting ready to settle in for a bit, talking, maybe some singing with the guitar, and possibly a game of hide 'n' seek in the dark, when it happened. The lights came on. So did the frig, and soon to follow were the computers and stereos. Little Man played one game of Just Dance on the Wii (his new favorite thing to do with Sissah) and then I took him to bed. I told him a story (The Many Adventures of a Texas Roadhouse Puppy...if you are a FB friend, you know what that's about!) in the dark, and enjoyed the lack of lights for a few minutes more. I'm seriously thinking of making one night a week (okay, maybe one night a month) a no lights night. Cooking on the wood stove was fun! I'd take listening to the guitar, laughter between children and their dad, and watching the moon from the kitchen table any day!