We followed miles of creeping taillights dodging debris strewn across the highway, fighting winds that threatened to push us off the road while marveling at the odd patches of eerie fog and admiring the lightning show going on all around us. We even had to pull over at one point to let the rain run itself out before we could keep driving.
We tend to over dramatize our disasters here in the nation's capital, but this past weekend was actually pretty intense:
- 90+ mph winds? check
- extreme heat advisories? check
- more than 3 million people without power? check (many are back up but I'm currently heading into day 4)
- surreal drives through darkened neighborhoods with upended trees and smashed cars? check
- sleeping in the pitch black basement to avoid melting? check
- countless games of jungle Uno played by camp lantern light? check
- hair so frizzy it would make an 80s hairband member cringe? check
- cold showers? check
- hundreds of dollars of food thrown out of the steamy fridge and freezer? check
- finally seeking refuge with a friend so I could be somewhat presentable before going to work? check
Despite all of this we are actually quite lucky. We've had awful heat and everything is dry and brittle but we are not literally on fire like so many around the country. Yes we've been uncomfortable and inconvenienced but we still have a home to go home to. The neighborhood across the street experienced a lot more physical damage than we did (where the majority of the photos were taken) but they retained their power. So we could have had it much worse.
Plus I'm blessed to have great roommates to share the burdens (and memories) with as well as so many friends who didn't lose power who eagerly opened up their homes to us all. I can't tell you how great it was to be able to charge my phone last night and to take a warm shower this morning. So many little things that are usually taken for granted and I'm so grateful for them! What are your blessings today?
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