Ice Storm of 2008

The Barrett Family knows all about evacuation. This was our 4th.

Thursday night when the power went out, Jim and I were each in a place you don't want to be when your power goes out. I was in the shower. Jim was in the basement (a truly scary place that is difficult in which to maneuver). Thankfully he found his way out and eventually arrived in the upstairs bathroom with a candle.

The next morning I resorted to a Coke for my caffeine jump start. We voted and set out for IHOP in Newington for pancakes (and coffee).

Everyone in Rockingham County was in Newington. Gridlock everywhere we went. People were tense and driving very aggressively. Eventually we made it into IHOP. Always a spectacle, we entertained the others waiting for tables. The little girls danced in their princess dresses while Joe and Lili rearranged the Christmas decorations. After 45 minutes we finally got a table. I felt so bad for the staff who were running around like crazy. One guy even fell down and hurt himself. Our waitress was absolutely wonderful, and very grateful that we weren't complaining. I lost count on how many cups of coffee I drank.

Next we went to Home Depot hoping to find a converter which would enable us to use the car battery to run some things in the house. As expected, they were sold out.

We only waited 1/2 hour for our take out dinner at Applebee's in Epping, the went home to tough it out. Clothed in layers we attempted to sleep. One by one the triplets woke up cold and came into our bed. We do have a king size bed, but it doesn't accommodate six. At least I wasn't cold since all the kids wanted to sleep with me. Most of the night I had Eve on my left arm, Joe on my right, and Faith on top. We only had one fall off.

By morning it was FREEZING in our house. My Mom called to say they had heat, so we quickly got the little ones changed and went Exeter.

We stayed Saturday through Monday. Much of it was a lot of fun. Mom made pancackes and coffee every morning, and the kids opened some Christmas gifts early. It was really very special for my parents to be able to spend so much time with the kids, and they were a great help. The only tough part was sleeping. They have a great queen size air mattress the is 2 feet high when inflated. It would have been very comfortable if we weren't trying to fit four wiggly kids and me on it . (Jim opted for the recliner.) Each kick or roll set off a chain reaction of complaints and bed struggles. Oh, and I forgot to mention everyone was sick. Faith and Eve both had ear infections, and their sleep was fitfull at best.

So, sleep was a problem. But we were so happy to be with family (can you see us in a shelter?) We prayed for those who weren't so lucky, and who were enduring this storm all alone.

We came home on Monday, and by Tuesday we were back to our usual chaos. Liliana still hasn't been back to school due to today's snowstorm. It has been nice having her home.

How does our ice storm story end? Jim is going to buy a generator.