Power Outage Brought Families, Neighbors Closer

It is rare that you see a time when all the neighbors are out walking around – I mean entire families and their dogs just strolling around, talking to each other. No televisions, no phones, no computers, no distractions. That is what it was like during the power outage in my neighborhood.

Sad that it takes a power outage to get neighbors together, but I have to say that it was something we should all do every so often. I played board games with my daughter by candlelight – completely cut off from the world. I had no phone access, no portable radio, no internet, and cell lines were down. I followed news updates on my iPad, but really that was the only connection to the outside world for seven hours. My neighbor came over and let me borrow his generator to cool my refrigerator down so food would not spoil. I saw so many neighbors in the street, it was almost a party!

The power outage, while a big inconvenience for most, really makes one think about things…like how important it is sometimes to turn off the phone and computer, get out and see your neighbors, and just sit with your kids doing something fun.  It was like going back in time, and yes it did make us all think about how vulnerable and dependent we are, which of course is another good thing to do every now and again. Most importantly, this little stray from the norm strengthens our sense of community, kindness and goodwill toward others.