It was December 24th, and we were getting ready to go to my sister Janna's for some Christmas Eve celebrating. Little did we know that 36 hours later the power at our house would be out, and there would be 18 inches of snow to shovel.


Nor did we know that the power would stay out for 36 hours and we would be shoveling snow many of those hours. We didn't know that four hours earlier Jeremy (dende) and Stephanie added Asa to their family. Little did we know that on the trip to Janna's I'd be saying to the man in blue I'm sorry I can't accept that ticket I didn't know we were exchanging gifts this year and I don't have anything for you. We didn't know that on Christmas Day The Return of the King would end no less than five times. Trust Hollywood to fuck up a perfectly good ending and substitute their own. We didn't know that when we went to bed that at four a.m. there would be repeated blue flashes of light through the window and power going off and coming on and then off again, and that was that. We didn't know that after sleeping for a few more hours the house would be decidedly cooler than when we crawled into bed hours earlier. We didn't know that we would consider the temperature that morning a heat wave compared to the next night's sleep in our fifty-degree house. And why is it that fifty sounds like a heat wave outside and is just damn cold inside? Little did we know that after going out for breakfast that when we returned the lights would still be out and the furnace dormant. Or while out for our evening meal, Frank was celebrating his birthday, while we were wondering if we were going to be last on the list of over 35,000 still without power. Later in the day was more of the same including more shoveling while Shelley was enjoying a warm San Antonio day and still chuckling about the phone call from that madman Rageboy. The latest news was telling us that there were still over 12,000 homes without power and that some would not be restored until Sunday or Monday. Little did we know that a couple of hours after arriving at Motel Six, one of the few that would also take our pets, no way we would spend another night in the ice box. The power would come back on, and we would be headed home. Several hours passed as the temperature in the house rose, and we kept our fingers crossed that the power wouldn't go out again. The last few days have been memorable but not what we had planned. There was certainly the good. The congratulations we get to offer Jeremy and Stephanie. A happy birthday greeting for Asa and Frank, and a heartfelt thanks to Shelley for sharing her trip through her words and pictures. Little did we know.