October Snow

Snow in October is infrequent but not uncommon in Connecticut. What is rare is a snowstorm in October that paralyzes the entire state for a week! We had such a storm the last Saturday of October, one week before Missy's wedding. The weathermen were calling for a foot of snow. I thought, "Oh, well, it will all be melted and gone by Friday, the day of the wedding." I was right about that, but wrong about the effects of this storm. Since there were still leaves on the trees, the branches became very heavy and many limbs were broken, landing on power lines. That meant power outages all over the state, with many towns being one hundred per cent out of power. I worked that day, hoping that I would be allowed to leave before the storm got bad. No such luck! First of all, we were very busy. Secondly, the snow began earlier than expected. I left at the end of my shift, and it took double the time to get home as it normally does. I saw many wires hanging low over the streets, and no street lights, as the power had already gone out. I arrived at our dark, cold house to find Caroline and Erin huddled under their blankets, waiting for me to come home. First, I lit a candle to give us some light. Then, I lit a burner on our gas stove to boil water for hot chocolate. Then, I located the ingredients to make dinner, lit the other burners, and proceeded to cook by candlelight. We only had one small candle so it was tricky. Well, Al got home with Janet and we ate dinner. He located two flashlights, and we found a few more candles. I washed dishes by hand in the dark, and then we went to bed because it was dark and cold. We kept warm by layering clothing and blankets. Sunday morning we woke up to a winter wonderland, but also to downed branches and power lines. It was much easier to deal with the power outage when it was light out! I made pancakes, and we made hot cereal for two neighbors and brought it to them. Everything in our town and the surrounding towns was closed, so we couldn't get supplies. Even the Walmart where I work was closed! The main concern we had was Missy and Eric's upcoming wedding.... would they still be able to have it? How would we manage without power? As the week wore on, we were able to get some limited supplies by going to towns farther away from home, as they had power. We also found out that Missy and Eric were going to have their wedding no matter what, so they spent the week trying to figure out alternatives. We were thankful that we still had hot water and a way to cook, because so many didn't have that. I missed work on Monday because Walmart was still without power. I worked Tuesday and was off the rest of the week because of the wedding. On Wednesday I went to Buckland Hills Mall with Al, and we sat in a Starbucks with him. Brewed coffee tasted so good, and it was so nice to be in a warm place. I brought my computer with me to catch up on Facebook and email, hoping to communicate with my son who is overseas. We met Janet, Erin, and Caroline. who were at the mall buying wedding gifts for Missy, and gave them my computer to use. Then Al and I got lunch. When we got home, I went to a laundromat in East Windsor to do laundry. We slept in the downstairs room of our house from Sunday night on in order to keep warm. By Thursday afternoon, every place that needed power for Missy's wedding had it, though our home did not get power till Friday. God answered our prayers to provide for Missy and Eric's wedding, and He brought us through the challenging week.