Candlelight Dinner

My husband and I had a very pleasent candlelight dinner last night.  But before you start thinking that he's uber-romantic, I must admit that it wasn't planned (and no, he wasn't being romantically spontaneous either).  I was working late, so he got home about an hour before me...only to find out that the monsoon storm had knocked out our neighborhood's power (and had knocked over our neighbor's tree as well!).  By the time I got home, most of the stormed had blown through, but we did go for a walk in the ending sprinkles, assuming that the electricity would be back on by the time we got home.

No such luck.  We got home as the sun was setting, and used the last few moments of daylight to gather any candles and flashlights we could find.  I reminded him that we had the camping lantern in the garage, but he figured that the electricy would be restored by the time that we pulled it out.  He did, however, find his head lamp, which at leat made things easier for him.  So we set about to make dinner the best we could.  He was very concerned (and as it turned out--rightly so) about not releasing too much cold air from the refrigerator, and made us come up with a game plan before removing the necessary items all at once, and then returninging them again all at the same time.  So we made our wraps (the only thing we could do without using the oven or stove), and had a very pleasant candlelight dinner. 

And then we tried to entertain ourselves without tv or internet or lights or any other modern appliances that are so easy to take for granted.  I had downloaded a few emails from work, so I was able to write the response...but couldn't send them out.  He got plenty of use out of his head lamp and spent the time reading for his class (with the light moving so slightly as he had his way through the pages).  I ended up going to bed at 8:30 pm, but not before calling my mom to tell her that I think God was looking out for me by knocking out the electricy and forcing me to get some early rest in the midst of this crazy back-to-school week. 

I was shocked that the electricity still wasn't on when I woke up this morning, nor was it restored by the time my husband left for work an hour or so after me.  He didn't even let me open up the fridge this morning to eat breakfast or grab my lunch, for fear of losing the last bits of cool air (luckily we had bananas at home and leftover bagels at work).  I didn't necessarily mind that the electricity was out--I figure it's just part of the territory when we live in the path of the monsoons (which, ultimately, I love).  But as the hours ticked by, I recognized how much I take electricity for granted...and realized how grateful I am that our Baby Girl isn't here quite yet.  I'm sure that we would have found a way to manage just fine--but the power outage was rather inconvenient, and I'm sure it would have been intensified with a newborn.  I recognize that women have been having babies longer than we've been harnessing electricity...but we've become so dependent on it!  It kind of makes me reconsider some of my habits.

And yes, I should mention, that the power was back on by the time my husband got home today (Thank You Lord!).

So aside from having electricity again, today's blessing was a very kind email from an instructor.  He teaches an elective course that I often suggest to my students who are looking for a fun and interesting class to fill their schedules (it covers the "history and heritage" of our university).  Well, apparently he asks each student where they heard about the class, and he said that many students mentioned me by name and shared having a positive experience with me as their advisor.  So he took the time to send me an email to thank me--not so much for recommending his class, but for being supportive to the students.  It was just really nice to be appreciated--especially during such a busy week!