Tag Archives: sprinklers

Love Songs on the Porch

Warm
promise
summer days
wake to birdsong
chalk art on sidewalks
hopscotch and roller skates
watching thunderclouds roll by
seventies love songs on the porch
wafting through our humble neighborhoods
baseball cards, clothespins, aluminum spokes
zooming down the alleys, hair flying free
running with glee through the cool sprinklers
blueberry snowcones at twilight
star gazing in my backyard
sweet childhood memories
such innocent times
and I wonder
just where have
they all
gone?

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2023
April 1, 2023

Happy Sunday! I am a day late posting this for the Blogophilia – and for good reason. Last night I was sitting here at my computer working a storm came up. I had finished my double etheree and was writing up the content for my blog, when a windstorm of wild proportions descended. We’d had warnings for high winds, and to be honest, we get them quite frequently where I live in Virginia. As I was on a writing roll, I paid no attention to it, typing away and suddenly – whoosh, the power was gone! It was pitch black, and we scrambled in the dark to find our lanterns, flashlights and candles.

We could tell this one was not a mere flicker of the lights, so we reported the outage, and it was the exact same area that ALWAYS goes out. However, it must have been serious because Dominion Power was reporting it was not coming back until 3 am at the earliest. So I had to modify my evening workout to a leg and abs workout in the dark (no cardio). Then I washed my face with bottled water and put my pjs on – we live on a well and therefore, have no running water when the power goes out. (Which is a major pain!) The cats were a little freaked out, following us around and wondering why we were sitting there at 9 pm drinking wine and playing Scrabble by candlelight, instead of watching television!

Since it was relatively cool outside, there was no problem sleeping (temperature wise, that is). However, we both kept waking up, peering up at the ceiling fan in the darkness to see if power had come back on. And of course, our luck would have it that still no power restored at 8 am when we crawled out of bed. The cats were a bit out of sorts. So Dan went into hurricane survival mode, drove to get us bagels and hot coffee. He also salvaged our Easter hams and took them to his office refrigerator (which fortunately still had power).

This was quite inconvenient for us both, as we are both working under the April 18 tax deadline and have LOTS of client work to do. Plus I was in need of a shower and a functional bathroom, so like I did for the past 3 power outages, I packed up the necessities, my computer, phone, chargers and we headed to his office. (Which conveniently has a functional shower, as luck would have it!) I told Dan, hey – it worked like a charm the last 3 times we headed to your office in a power outage, so why not? He got a chance to work while I had a decadent shower in an old but clean bathroom (who cares, I felt like a million bucks after)! And no sooner did I step out, fresh and fully dressed, than Dan said “Power’s back on!” Our neighbors had texted us. Maybe I should have done this last night, lol.

So we were out of power for a total of 18 hours. This evening I will have to determine what needs to be thrown out. The freezer still looked good, no ice had melted and the ice cream and meats were solid. I will toss eggs, mayonnaise, sour cream, dairy type things and any leftovers. It’s an inconvenience, but nothing like what we used to experience in South Florida with the frequent hurricanes. It kind of derailed my weekend a bit, as I did not get the amount of work done I wanted to. I’d planned on a nice 6 mile run this afternoon, but I’m just too exhausted today. So I’ll listen to my body and just take things as they come. The cats are tired out and catnapping as usual!

I was afraid my poem was completely lost – I didn’t remember saving it. Fortunate, when our power returned, the poem was still intact, but the blog verbiage was not. I think I was just musing on how many memories and blessings I have from my childhood in the very early 70’s – such a carefree time on Guilford Avenue, cruising the alleys (Keller Alley as we deemed it), dodgeball under the porch, reading books on the front porch, baseball in the gravel driveway, tag, freeze, Simon Says, playing in the cool basement, watching fireworks from the playroom window…. I have so many engrained in my mind and heart, and I am so grateful for them!

The takeaway this week? Be grateful for what you have, look at them as blessings, and take things in stride. I am so glad this power outage did not happen next weekend, as we have a hockey game Saturday night and are hosting Easter dinner on Sunday.  So listen up …. Aeolus, oh God of Storms, please be kind to us next weekend! Have a great week, everyone.

xoxo
Colleen

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 39.14 Topic: Where Have They All Gone?
Hard Bonus: Use a song title by the singer Pink (Humble Neighborhoods)
Easy Bonus: Include a baseball card