Family Power Surge: Jump Start to Simplicity
By Julie Perine on July 08, 2012 from It’s Happening
While many waited for days for power restoration, my family and I headed to the Tygart River to stay in a camp where there was no electricity, no internet and no telephone service.
I know.
Weird move.
But after a fair amount of travel, we have found that one of the most relaxing locations for vacation is right under our nose.
Guests are our friends’ river camp, we can float away the hours by rollin’ on the river in a raft or do some serious nighttime cat fishing by the light of the full moon.
Guests are our friends’ river camp, we can float away the hours by rollin’ on the river in a raft or do some serious nighttime cat fishing by the light of the full moon.
With no TV, we sat outside until the wee hours of the night talking and exchanging stories. By day, we sunbathed, played in the rapids and kayaked under the full force of the sun without a care.
There were no decisions about where to eat. It was simple: We gathered under the canopy and grilled up the catch of the day and some fresh veggies from the garden.
Ok. We had burgers one night. Even fishermen with best intentions have a dry spell now and then.
We didn’t have to dress to impress, wear make-up - or heck - even change clothes, for that matter.
Life was easy.
On day three, the power was restored and I won’t lie. There was a little rejoicing. It was darned hot in the camp houses.
But besides that – and the fact that we could wash our clothes – little changed about the vacation. Dinners were simple; activity revolved around the water and conversation ruled over TV.
Our venture and accompanying thrill for simplicity was shared by many who braved the elements – or lack thereof – and basked in the same pleasures our parents and grandparents did in their youth long ago.
I’ve heard of couples getting their toddlers to bed and enjoying each other’s company by playing cards. Instead of DVD movies, mothers took their kids on nature walks – or engaged in some fun summer craft projects. Books have been read. Fishing line has been strung.
It’s ironic, isn’t it?
A storm can make us realize what we had all along and chose not to engage in. As years roll by, technology advances rapidly and we have to work harder in our professions to afford the luxuries.
Don’t get me wrong.
I appreciate what modern technology has to offer. And I know how much electricity benefits victims of poor health and aids in cooling us all, most imporantly, the ill and the elderly. And I know what a struggle it has been for some to go without.
But many will agree that we’ve become too dependent upon it all.
What reality show can compare with watching a couple of avid anglers set their strategies for a night of on the waters?
What four-star resort can compete with a small cottage where hostess and guests have worn out after a full day of fun and fallen slumber in every nook and cranny?
What memory can hold a candle to gathering up cushions for an outside sleep, only to be awoken by bolts of lightning and claps of thunder?
Or waking up smack in the middle of the night to a toddler happily babbling about her day in the pitch dark?
My two-fold thanks to First Energy: For tirelessly working to rescue families without power in the scorching heat – and for giving us time to reflect on our own power to revive the family spirit.
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