First of all, where’s my T-Shirt?  I survived!!

Seriously though, I thought that Prospect got slammed by the Storm on Tuesday, but it wasn’t until getting back to my hometown of Southbury that I was glad to have been at work.  100% of the town lost power.  Trees and power lines blocked several roads, trapping some and leaving it up to homeowners to chainsaw their way out.  

The level of Damage was as bad or perhaps worse than any blizzard, tropical storm, or hurricane that I’ve seen hit Southbury in my lifetime.  I’m hoping that I have power when I get home today, but after driving through the town’s backroads yesterday (my day off), I’m not so sure.

In a world so driven by technology nowadays, it’s easy to forget how much our lives our tied into the grid until we drop off it for a little while. But in times like these, it almost feels like technology is more of a burden than a resource, so it was cool to unplug for a bit.

Without electricity to power any of my devices, I turned to my acoustic guitar for some entertainment and much-needed practice.  I was also able to clean up the yard; thankfully, we were free from property damage because of the way the wind was blowing but did lose three trees.

If I had to take any life lessons away from this week, it’s that living with storms like these, or blizzards, or hurricanes, really helps you prepare for the unexpected in any of life’s situations. It’s easy for people to get anxious or panic when they’re suddenly thrown into a stressful environment, but they spend too long asking the question “What should I do?” instead of actually answering it. Once you assess your surroundings, weigh risks, and present yourself with only actions that you can take immediately to get yourself out of a crisis situation, the path might become clearer than you ever thought possible.  That’s easier said than done, of course.  Who knows, maybe the only way to learn is from experience?