Power lost!

Our luck finally ran out regarding our not having lost power. But it actually turned into a good thing.

When we returned from the doctor's office, and stopped to pick up the mail, our neighbor lady announced that we had no power.  I'd said in the last blog that it looked like it could go at any second. (the thawing being almost as bad—or worse—than the freezing) It did! We ate, and discussed our options. Mel had a field trip, and didn't want to leave me home, alone, with no vehicle to get out, no lights, no TV, no computer, and no water.  I asked where he was going. He said that the trip was boys varsity basketball, going roughly 35 miles from Forsyth. I decided go with him, taking the first advantage of my my prerogative to attend the event as the spouse of the bus driver. I've never chosen to go before, as I don't usually do well in noisy crowds of people. (bus full of kids, & gym full of fans) But, it sounded much preferable than to staying home. We decided to take an overnight bag, and perhaps to stay in a motel if the power remained off. We gave the neighbor Mel's cell number, and asked that she call us when/if power came on. 

I had a wonderful time! The bus was surprisingly quiet, and though I knew of Mel's superb talents as a bus driver,  it was fun to experience, first hand, some of those exceptional talents. No wonder he's requested to drive all events. He  met  numerous skill tests in the time we were on the road, and he passed each and all with flying colors. There were the road conditions with all the different stages of snow packed, icy, and thawing to dry. We also met with dense fog due to the varying temperatures. Where there was a lot of thawing, I saw him taking mental notes of where to watch on the return trip in the falling temperatures. The parking at the destination school (this was a tournament) was tricky, and his maneuvering skills of a 40' bus on a slippery parking lot was flawless. He didn't flinch at the coach's request to stop at a convenience store to let the triumphant team buy celebratory goodies (junk). And, after their departure, turned the bus around on a comparative dime, to re-board them at a better spot for their walking safety.  

He is so used to our winding, mountain roads, and knows just how to take the curves and keep the passengers comfortable so that there is no need to lean or hang on.  At one point on these roads where there are no shoulders or passing places, he detected an emergency vehicle approaching from the rear, and stopped at the perfect spot to allow the ambulance to see around him far enough to safely get around, and it didn't slow the ambulance's progress at all. I was in true awe.

The game was fun and pretty quiet, too. We were just pulling into the school back home when Mel got the call that our power was back on! We'd already decided to go home, anyway, but that was a bonus! The double bonus was that all of the power trucks, had left our road clear of storm debris, and we won't have that to contend with.  School had already been cancelled for Friday, too—they couldn't get the buses up the hill to run any routes.  lol The forecast looks great to be back to normal by Monday.

By the time we got back to our house, my spa was back up to temperature, and I was a real happy lady! Tomorrow my doctor report. Hugs!