...for friends and family, co-workers, couches, electricity, heat, hot water, phones....
Those of us who make our homes in New Hampshire, as well as parts of Massachusetts and southern Maine have been dealing with the nasty aftermath of what's being called the worst ice storm ever to hit this area. At one point, over a million of us were without power, and were told it could be days or more than a week before it could be restored. A state of emergency was declared so that aid and federal assistance could come in.
Our power went out Thursday evening, and because we rarely have power outages here in the Portsmouth NH area, most of us just went to bed secure in the knowledge that our power would be back on well before we woke up the next morning. NOT!
Being the early riser that I am, I woke up while it was still dark. My power was still off, my heat was off, and my phone wasn't working. So, I decided to get dressed and go see what I could see, never expecting to see my whole town in total darkness. I drove through neighborhood after neighhood, seeing total darkness, not a light to be found in any home or down any street where street lamps always lead the way home. One section in the heart of downtown Portsmouth had power, about a 2 block stretch, and only one side of that street, which struck me as really odd. All the coffee drinkers seemed to have some kind of honing sense, as they all converged on that small area downtown where there were 2 coffee shops open. I have never seen so many people walking around in one area holding coffee cups ever. Coffee drinkers must possess some kind of sixth sense to have known to flock to that one spot in town where there was still electricity!
I continued driving around, in total astonishment at a totally dark town and to try to get warm as my house had been getting a little chilly. I went back home, walked around a bit trying to figure out what to do. My office finally got power on late morning on Friday, so I went there to hang out awhile and stay warm. All day Saturday, no power, no heat, very sketchy phone service in many areas. I drove 3 towns away before I could get cell service so I could check on one of my sisters who lives about an hour away. Their power was out, too, and they'd had a tree crash into their house. Her power came back on late Friday afternoon, and I was glad since she has 2 kids.
I ended up spending Friday night on one of the couches in my office, not fitful sleeping, but warm and happy to have someplace to lay down on. Eventually other agents made their way into the office Saturday morning when word started spreading that we had power. I suspect some spent the night there last night, when their power had still not come on.
My power finally came back on late Saturday, just as I was making my final stop back home to put anti-freeze in the drains and head to a room I finally was able to get at one of our local hotels. Every hotel was booked solid, with all them being booked up for Sunday and into Monday as well.
Anyway, as I was walking up to my house on that last stop, I realized I was seeing every light in my house shining brightly. I stopped in my tracks, looked around, closed my eyes tightly then opened them again, and the lights really were shining. I came inside, with my eyes watering with sheer joy, and then looked across the street and down the street, making sure I wasn't just seeing things, or that I had been hoping so hard for this that I was dillusional. And I wasn't!! The tears were running down my face at this point, I was so happy for the things we just take for granted every day. I didn't even notice that my house was warming up, oh how nice that felt when I realized it!
I quickly called the hotel to let them know I now had power back on, and they told me not to worry, that they could sell that room a hundred times over. I went back to my office to move my things back here to my house, and then I just sat down and cried. At times, during this whole ordeal, I felt so alone in the dark. Bear wasn't here with me to help us get through this, to tell me everything would be okay, that we would get through this just fine....
- I am very thankful for my friends who called to check on me, even though they were also without electricity and heat themselves.
- I am so thankful for my family who continued to check on me and give me encouragement. I am very thankful for co-workers who made sure I knew I could call on them if I needed anything, and they were all in the same boat I was in but knew I was alone at my house.
- I am thankful for the beautiful office I work in, for the couches we have, and for it being located where it is because it had power and heat long before most of the area did. Power there came on mid-morning on Friday, and most of us were without power until Saturday night. Some are still without power and heat, and it may be days before they get it back.
And I am especially thankful for the crews who live and work here in New Hampshire, and for all those crews who traveled from other states to come up here and get us back up and running, some of whom had no power and no heat in their own homes here in NH.
While we were going through this, I told my dad at one point I felt like I was in the twilight zone. One of the agents I work with said as she was driving around in her car trying to keep warm on Friday that she felt like a refugee. So many feelings of displacement, and being totally out of sorts - it was very disconcerting to all of us. We are so used to the basics, and not-so-basic things, just always being there. When they're not, we don't know what to do at first. But we soon banded together, began checking on each other, looking out for each other to make sure we had things to get through this as best we could.
I will always be grateful for those who took time to do the simple things like checking in on me, offering me shelter in their homes even though they, too, had no heat or power, for those friends who live in my computer who checked in as well. And I will be thankful when all who were impacted by this storm get their power and heat back, too. I called friends who don't have power back up yet and offered my guest room and couches to them, and offered warm showers as well.
I got to sleep in my own bed last night and be warm. This morning, I woke up and realized I was in my own home where it really was warm, and I silently rejoiced. I took the longest warm shower today that I think I've ever taken, just because I could......
Yep, I am SO thankful for so many things......
Ann Cummings, New Hampshire REALTOR
RE/MAX Coast to Coast
Portsmouth NH
ann@anncummings.com
1-888-349-5678 x 3839
Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine
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What an ordeal! Living in Florida, we are accustomed to power outages with our Tropical Storms. No electricity means no a/c....a little sweat is nothing in comparison to those who are freezing. Good luck to you and Merry Christmas!