When the Power Goes Out
Yesterday I was talking with my mom on the phone when I arrived home. Clicked the garage door button in the car and nothing happened. Tried a few more times and still nothing happened. I told her I needed to let her go so I could figure it out.
I saw that the home across from us had their porch light on. The home to our left also had their lights on. Our home looked dark, but we hadn't left any lights on. Completely normal.
Julia and I walked around to the front of the house to get inside (I had just dropped Riley at dance before coming home). When we walked in, it was eerily dark. Saw that the kitchen appliances had no times on them and knew we had no power. Immediately thought that a rat or other animal had chewed some wires causing the problem.
When I called Jeremy, he was baffled as well and said he'd call CoServ, our electric company. Being that it was after 5pm, they were closed. He then checked our account and called me.
He told me that we had missed a payment. I was confused as I wouldn't have thought they'd turn off the power with only one missed payment. He then told me that we had actually missed the last two payments. Somehow he had missed them and in the business of the past two months hadn't paid.
At first, I found it somewhat funny. And annoying. And frustrating. But mostly funny. Here we had money in the bank to cover it no problem and at the same time we were home without any power. I called my mom and she said that we could come to their home to spend the night. Using the flashlight on my phone, I quickly gathered essentials for us to go there.
Julia kept turning on light switches and saying "Well - there's no power in there! And look Mom - this switch doesn't work either. There's no power in this room either." She was truly amazed that nothing responded. She then replied "This is a problem!"
Jeremy arrived home and we made the choice that he would stay the night with Val, the dog, and snuggled on the couch to keep them both warm. I would sleep with the girls at my parents' house. We all headed to get dinner and settled at my folks. He felt like an idiot for forgetting to pay the bills - this was without my adding any insult I should add! He explained to Julia that it was his fault that the power wasn't on. Julia responded with a loving "I forgive you Dad." It was incredibly sweet.
When we got in the car to leave, Julia then tells me "Whatever the thing that Dad did, I forgive him." I told her that I did too. As the hours went on, I began wondering what else might not have been paid and what else could have been forgotten. I was frustrated that the bills wouldn't have been paid - and not due to being unable to pay them; just not getting it done and being responsible with it. Then I realized that mistakes happen and it's just part of life. Move on.
That being said, we are planning to sit down this weekend to go over everything financial to get a better conversation going on about where we are. We used to have so much more time to discuss everything and it's been harder as we've taken on more. Need to work on our priorities!
The girls were thrilled about spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Especially on a school night! Riley was quite surprised when Jeremy picked her up after dance.
Riley: Do you have any paper?
Me: Yes - why?
Riley: Well can I have some?
Me: Yeah - what for?
Riley: I want to write this story for my class
Jeremy: Oh please don't!
We had dinner and the girls played for a while. The three of us settled into a queen sized bed. Riley towards the wall, Julia in the middle and me closest to the edge. The girls crashed pretty easy and it was comfortable... at least the bed was - not the small amount of space I had.
I hadn't been feeling well the past few days - pretty sure due to allergies - but was worn down and stressed. Chose to stay home today and rest.
Jeremy called CoServ this morning and had already paid the bills last night. Power was turned on and life is returning back to normal. So thankful. Now to kick this sickness and give my husband a big kiss when I do!
I saw that the home across from us had their porch light on. The home to our left also had their lights on. Our home looked dark, but we hadn't left any lights on. Completely normal.
Julia and I walked around to the front of the house to get inside (I had just dropped Riley at dance before coming home). When we walked in, it was eerily dark. Saw that the kitchen appliances had no times on them and knew we had no power. Immediately thought that a rat or other animal had chewed some wires causing the problem.
When I called Jeremy, he was baffled as well and said he'd call CoServ, our electric company. Being that it was after 5pm, they were closed. He then checked our account and called me.
He told me that we had missed a payment. I was confused as I wouldn't have thought they'd turn off the power with only one missed payment. He then told me that we had actually missed the last two payments. Somehow he had missed them and in the business of the past two months hadn't paid.
At first, I found it somewhat funny. And annoying. And frustrating. But mostly funny. Here we had money in the bank to cover it no problem and at the same time we were home without any power. I called my mom and she said that we could come to their home to spend the night. Using the flashlight on my phone, I quickly gathered essentials for us to go there.
Julia kept turning on light switches and saying "Well - there's no power in there! And look Mom - this switch doesn't work either. There's no power in this room either." She was truly amazed that nothing responded. She then replied "This is a problem!"
Jeremy arrived home and we made the choice that he would stay the night with Val, the dog, and snuggled on the couch to keep them both warm. I would sleep with the girls at my parents' house. We all headed to get dinner and settled at my folks. He felt like an idiot for forgetting to pay the bills - this was without my adding any insult I should add! He explained to Julia that it was his fault that the power wasn't on. Julia responded with a loving "I forgive you Dad." It was incredibly sweet.
When we got in the car to leave, Julia then tells me "Whatever the thing that Dad did, I forgive him." I told her that I did too. As the hours went on, I began wondering what else might not have been paid and what else could have been forgotten. I was frustrated that the bills wouldn't have been paid - and not due to being unable to pay them; just not getting it done and being responsible with it. Then I realized that mistakes happen and it's just part of life. Move on.
That being said, we are planning to sit down this weekend to go over everything financial to get a better conversation going on about where we are. We used to have so much more time to discuss everything and it's been harder as we've taken on more. Need to work on our priorities!
The girls were thrilled about spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Especially on a school night! Riley was quite surprised when Jeremy picked her up after dance.
Riley: Do you have any paper?
Me: Yes - why?
Riley: Well can I have some?
Me: Yeah - what for?
Riley: I want to write this story for my class
Jeremy: Oh please don't!
We had dinner and the girls played for a while. The three of us settled into a queen sized bed. Riley towards the wall, Julia in the middle and me closest to the edge. The girls crashed pretty easy and it was comfortable... at least the bed was - not the small amount of space I had.
I hadn't been feeling well the past few days - pretty sure due to allergies - but was worn down and stressed. Chose to stay home today and rest.
Jeremy called CoServ this morning and had already paid the bills last night. Power was turned on and life is returning back to normal. So thankful. Now to kick this sickness and give my husband a big kiss when I do!
Comments
Post a Comment