COLD. It is COLD.
I went to bed last night with my watch on. At some point in the night, Jean and I were half awake. She asked me what time it was, and I looked at my watch.
"It's either ten after six, or it's two thirty. I can't tell."
I don't remember any more, until I woke at about eight thirty. It was cold. After about fifteen minutes, Jean started to stir. We talked in bed for half an hour, desperate to stay under the covers. I could hear the dogs whining in the room next door (they start whining when they know I'm awake).
Finally I decided I'd get out of bed and get a fire going. Jean set up the card table in front of the fireplace. We had Rice Krispies and the bread that Jean made yesterday before the power went out. We'd put the milk, OJ and butter on the front porch before going to bed last night, since it was clearly colder out there than it seemed to be in our refrigerator.
It was eleven o'clock when we were just finishing up breakfast and getting ready to exchange presents when, as if on cue, the power came back on. At first we couldn't tell. Jean heard a radio that wasn't the battery-operated model we'd been using. Then I saw one of the kitchen lights on.
We were saved! And just in time to open presents.
I got a nice pair of blue pants for work, as well as some black and white film. I've recently gone crazy over black and white photos, and Jean has found someplace that sells the film. I gave Jean two pairs of earrings (one of which is really jazzy). We both got Bumpy one of those Playschool/Tonka plush trucks. It's motorized and has eyes in the windshields. It's a present for the Bump's zeroth Christmas.
Jean called her mom. We're going to make a run for Virginia Beach. We heard late last night that I-64 had one lane open, and we're hoping that by this afternoon it'll be back to normal.
I'm now catching up on my journal entries while she finishes wrapping presents for the Virginia Beach contingent. We're hoping to be on our way by three o'clock. The trees outside are melting, a good sign that the roads are also improving.
Thanks to everyone for checking in these last few days, and thanks to Lynda for the plug! Weather permitting, I'll be back Sunday with a wrap-up of our hopefully less eventful trip to Virginia Beach.
The sun is shining and the trees are dripping. Occasionally a small avalanche of ice falls to the ground, or against the roof of our house. The tree branches are slowly beginning to lift up as the weight of the ice melts away.
listening: Christmas (Michael W. Smith); Trumpets Sound, Voices Ring (The American Boychoir and The Atlantic Brass Quintet)
© 1998 Kevin J.T. Creamer