Hanging Tough!

Well, here we are, getting close to the end of day four without power or internet, and we're still hanging in there! We're comfortable, we're doing fine, and we're making the best of it. Although I will say, this mama is getting tired. We might all be getting an early bedtime tonight whether anybody likes it or not. 😂

We grilled burgers for dinner and took another walk down to the bridge to enjoy this cooler weather. We've been down there three times today, although one of those trips was on bicycles. I'm pretty sure I've gotten all my steps in and then some, but I couldn't tell you for sure because I haven't charged my Apple Watch in days. I don't know why I haven't plugged it into the generator. I just haven't. At this point I'm counting my steps on the honor system.

Gary is heading back to work tomorrow. He was supposed to go today, but they told him to stay home with us since we still didn't have power. I think everybody was expecting more of Santa Rosa County to be restored by now, but apparently the damage is a lot more extensive than originally estimated.

And boy, has that caused an uproar.

I understand being frustrated. Believe me, I do. Nobody enjoys being without electricity, air conditioning, or internet. But I also don't understand getting yourself so worked up over something you have absolutely no control over. I'm not particularly interested in raising my cortisol levels and blood pressure over things I can't change. Other people's behavior is already enough of a challenge. Natural disasters are a close second. Sometimes they're practically the same thing. 😂

People are furious because they were told the power would be restored by Tuesday, and now it might not be. Well, things change. New information becomes available. More damage is discovered. Sometimes you just have to PIVOT, people!

These linemen are working their butts off. They're away from their own families, working in dangerous conditions, trying to get everybody else's lives back to normal so they can finally go home. I seriously doubt they're sitting around trying to figure out how to inconvenience Santa Rosa County for another day.

When I drive around and look at the amount of destruction, I'm actually amazed that as many people have power back as they do. Gary and I went nearly two weeks without electricity after a hurricane when we lived in the Tampa area, and the damage wasn't nearly this bad. So from where I'm sitting, I think they've done a pretty incredible job.

Then there's been all the commotion about the schools reopening. I'm not even getting into the political circus surrounding that one. I have opinions, of course, but at this point I'm just glad the kids aren't expected back until Monday. Families need time to get their electricity and water restored, wash clothes, bathe their children, and get their homes back in order. That's not unreasonable. That's just common sense.

I think everybody needs to remember that we just went through a hurricane. A pretty serious one! Things aren't going to snap back to normal overnight, no matter how much fussing and carrying on we do.

And listen, I know it's hot. It got up to 87 degrees this afternoon, and I know some of these houses are miserable without air conditioning. But it's 76 degrees outside tonight! Open the windows if you can, sit outside, take a walk, find a little shade. Do whatever you can to make things easier on yourself instead of sitting inside getting madder by the minute.

We've actually had a pretty good time finding little things to do. Today we wandered around the neighborhood, saw a cow standing in the middle of the road, spotted a peacock and some blue crabs, and walked down by the railroad tracks. The kids skipped rocks, and we moved a few fallen limbs out of the way. Last night we spent some time down at the pier. Nothing fancy. Just being outside together and enjoying what's around us.

And that's really my point. You can be miserable through the whole thing, or you can try to find a little enjoyment wherever you can. We're in Florida. Hurricanes happen. They're inconvenient, uncomfortable, expensive, and sometimes downright terrifying. But four days without electricity doesn't have to mean four days without a single pleasant moment.

More than anything, I'm thankful. I'm thankful our house is still standing, that we're all safe, that the weather has been relatively pleasant, and that we've had people looking out for one another. After seeing what happened around here, I think we were incredibly fortunate. This could have been so much worse.

So we'll keep grilling, walking, riding bikes, and making the best of it until the lights come back on. It'll happen when it happens.

And I guess that's about all the bitching I've got to do tonight about everybody else's bitching.

The irony is not lost on me. 😂