The Wonders of Electricity

Though I love the peace and quiet of country life, I’m a city girl, as you all know, so all of the time I’ve spent in Cornell, Michigan without running water, citified bathroom facilities, and the lack of electricity has been challenging at times – to say the least.

But let’s get caught up first. My last blog was about my trip with my daughter, Kristin, to Reno, NV to see my son, Mike, and his family. Here are some other highlights from my seven months in the PNW (it’s impossible to list them all) – I was able to enjoy seeing my granddaughter, Jo, star in another play – this time she was the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. She is born to be on the stage. She, along with a couple of other girls, also wrote and performed a screenplay of Harry Potter in a camp this year, and, again, blew me away with her talent. I watched Kristin’s fiance’s daughter do a performance and quickly realized she, too, is born for the stage. I spent time watching favorite shows (and new ones) with my daughter, shopping days, and movie times. Visits with three BFFs and sisters as often as possible. Family game night with sisters, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and nephews, along with extended family members (what a blast). Sav was home from college for Christmas and breaks. It’s always a blessing to get caught up with her. A quick trip to Colorado with my husband, and then a few days at Bayview with my oldest sister, Erica, for some writing exercises (and agate hunts). My last big trip was with two of my sisters at our Pacific Ocean retreat in Seaside, Oregon. Sleeping to the sound of the ocean, digging my toes in the sand, and watching the sunset on a horizon as far as the eye can see is what regenerates my soul. Every day was spent in quiet conversation, laughter, and adventures, along with good food and wine. There is nothing like standing in front of the ocean and breathing salty air and new life into my soul. I am suddenly whole again. It is as if every little fiber that had become threadbare – a lot or even a little – is repaired within me. I have a rock that says “I go to the sea to breathe” and I couldn’t have said it better myself.

The evening I got back from the ocean I met up with Dan, who had driven in from Michigan. I had a chance to get caught up with my brother, Bill, and sister-in-law, Judy and her family. The next morning we were on our way to Michigan with a full, and by full I mean overloaded trailer containing 95% of our belongings. If you remember we sold everything when we took to the road for our travel adventures. The rest was put in storage, which consisted of boxes of household items, and a few antique pieces we would not part with. The whole “overloaded” situation kept both of us on edge as the road continued to be long and hot. We had our pop-up trailer on our pick-up truck which became our temporary home as we made our way from Washington to Michigan. Thankfully, five days later we were parked on the property. It took a week for me to fully recover from the drive, stress does a number on me at my age, but I am back in the groove again. Dan manages road stress much better. I can hear some of you asking “Are they living on the property full time” – for now, the property will be our main launchpad. After all, the taxes are cheap, and we have our trailer here to sleep in, and soon we will move into the cabin. But, eventually, I’ll want to live as close to the PNW as I can. I don’t know what that looks like yet, so, as of now, I live one day at a time. I haven’t dealt with winter here, and I don’t really want to, so I’ll be back and forth to Washington regardless.

So, what does all this have to do with the title of this blog? Let me explain. Being on the property is more like a real home now. Dan keeps the RV water tank full so I can clean, wash dishes, cook, and shower. We have internet (the highest speed possible) and, last but not least, we have electricity. I have never been so happy not having to ask Dan to start the generator so I can pack in as much writing etc as possible on my computer knowing I only have a couple of hours. Now, I’m free to use the power of our modern world throughout the day, and night if I so choose. Thanks to electricity, I stay cool in the A/C of our trailer, warm when the evening temps drop, and I don’t have to wait until the generator is going to start the coffee in the morning.

Growing up, and as an adult, my life is accustomed to having electricity, so much so that it seems unreal without it. If we lost power due to a storm life became less than ideal. Now, time spent on the property without power has enhanced my appreciation for power tenfold. I know in Upper Michigan, and having weather dictated by the Great Lakes, we will likely lose power off and on, but having power is such a wonderful asset to my existence here I’m taking advantage of every minute. I LOVE ELECTRICITY…that, my friends, is not an exaggeration.

Thanks for reading my rambling, and have a great first day of August.