When the Lights Went Out

Yesterday had all the makings of an idyllic Sunday. We slept late (for parents -- after 7) and decided that, if we hurried, we could make 9am Mass. And did it with time to have our choice of seats. After Mass, we headed to breakfast. Yum!

The afternoon was quiet: nap/quiet/down time for everyone before we decided to run a couple of errands and hit the playground. Done and done.

It was the first time Clare really "got" the playground equipment. She figured out how to scramble up the toddler play structure and go down the slide (with some launching help from Daddy). She called it "whee" probably because I say it every.time. she goes down. Over and over and over, scampering by another little boy every.single.time. His dad even commented that she was "a woman on a mission," which gave me a good chuckle.

Before she figured it out herself.

I've said 1,000 times and I'll say it a million more. The best part of parenting -- for me -- is watching my child(ren) "figure it out." Every time Clare learns a new trick, masters a new skill, or surprises me with what she can do, my heart beats proudly and I smile. What a joy! What a miracle!

Finally, we dragged our tired, sandy daughter away. She had to be carried, but not without seeing a "puppy" pass by and adorably, frantically trying to find the lost puppy. "Puppy. Puppy. Puppy . . . puppy?!?"

We headed home to make tacos and have a quiet evening at home. It wasn't meant to be.

When we got home, the comedy of errors began. The garage door wouldn't work. And of course, we didn't bring the keys (stupidly, admittedly). New battery? No go. So we checked all the doors we had carefully locked. Nada. And tried the key pad for the garage. No such luck. As we were calling our "backup" in hopes that he had a key (thank God, he did!!), our neighbor stopped by to say hi and ask if our power was out, too.

Oooooooooooh! That explains everything now, doesn't it?!?

So, we drove to pick up our miracle key. Drove home to make sure it worked. Yay! Found the power was still out. Grabbed keys and disengaged the garage door. Headed out to pick up dinner, exhausted, and not wanting to mess with powerless dinner in a home that is only very temporarily ours.

Of course, the power was still out when we got home, so we fumbled around to find a flashlight, and pour all three of us into bed.

Clare was asleep pretty much before we got out of her room. I don't think either of us slept well before the power came back on at about 11, and morning came too soon, especially for Charles who had to be at the hospital at 6. But, we survived the crazy!

Our take-aways for the day:

• Take the keys with you, dodo-brains.
• Put a flashlight and extra batteries in my emergency car kit.
• If we're ever staying somewhere that's not our own, especially if our hosts aren't present, we should identify the locations of things like candles, flashlights, matches, fire extinguishers, etc. before we need them.
• Clare on the playground is about the best thing in the world.

I mean, how can you resist?