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Over the past couple of years, I have formed a deep liking and appreciation for my generator. At first, I was not its biggest fan, actually voting against its purchase in thinking that it really isn’t a necessity, just a convenience that I, as a resourceful lady, could do without.
But, my husband, the wise man he is, insisted on adding this to our repertoire of garage items that serve as obstacles to maneuver around. My relationship with the generator was that of convenience in using it to rest my purse on, as I unplugged my car. Now, I would like to buy it a nice bottle of the best gas I can find…
In the distant past, I can remember when a big storm blew in and we lost power. Although I missed watching a favorite TV show or listening to the radio, the loss of power felt more like an adventure as my parents always made sure we each had our own flashlight and lit a few of the special candles we had handy. If it was cold, my father added more wood to the stove, and if it was hot, my mother told us to make construction paper fans. The bathtubs stood filled with water to use for flushing toilets and the annoying task of brushing our teeth could be skipped for one night.
In the more recent past, whenever the power went out, I enjoyed the opportunity to unplug and reconnect with people. Two days ago, it seemed like the power went out for the 20th time in recent months and I thought “Thank God we can plug in the generator and I reconnect with the world so that I can get everything done that I have to do!”
Yes- I am happy that my fridge, toilet and shower still work, ensuring that my expensive food does not perish and that I can wash away the effects the intense heat leaves behind. But I am OVER THE MOON that I can continue my studies with little interruption and hand in assignments, on time, that are due for professors who do not care that my power went out. Since my schooling is completely virtual, I need a virtually powered environment that is operational and my generator gives that to me, making it my new best friend. But there are other, more intangible, benefits of having a generator…
Family members who are nearby are stopping in with regularity to take a shower, get some water, or store some items in my fridge or freezer. In this COVID isolating environment, these visits have been fun and a welcome interruption to a hectic study schedule. And not everything in my house is being powered by the generator so I have an excuse to not do laundry, vacuuming or cleaning really of any kind during the outage, making me feel less guilty when I catch up on the latest episode of the Housewives. I’m certainly not thankful that the power goes out so often, but I am beyond thankful that I am lucky enough to have found an electrifying connection of positivity with my generator. PUN INTENDED. Power? Power?
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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