We had an eventful week here, weather-wise. In the early hours of Monday morning we were woken by a fierce howl of wind. I’ve experienced my share of wind storms, but this one felt different; our old house trembled and we actually felt the bed shake beneath us. We later learned the gusts reached as high as 130 km per hour.
It didn’t take long for the power to go out, which we expected. What surprised us was the scene outside the next morning: one of our favorite trees lay uprooted, and the basketball hoop and pole were down with it.
Although our house and vehicles were spared serious damage, the island itself looked as if a storm had swept through a chaos of fallen trees and snapped power poles. We braced for an extended outage, and ended up setting a new personal record—four days without electricity.
I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I know there are people who still live by candlelight and are dealing with far worse situations. That said, these four days made me appreciate the everyday conveniences I usually take for granted.
When the lights go out, life slows down. Small tasks become time-consuming chores and little comforts take on outsized importance. Here are a few things I found myself especially grateful for during the outage.
1. Running water
Water is luxury. We’re fortunate to have a gravity-fed supply, so normally we still have water when the power goes out. This time, though, a couple of issues left us without running water for a few days. Those days reminded me how wonderful and essential that steady flow is. I won’t be taking it for granted again.
2. Hot water
Having access to hot water made the outage much more bearable and helped keep everyone clean and comfortable. I understood, in a small way, why people in the past were always “putting water on to boil.” I spent a surprising amount of time each day heating water for washing, cooking, and basic hygiene; it felt oddly grounding to return to these simple routines.
3. My cherry-red cast iron pot
My husband gave me a porcelain-coated cast iron pot for Christmas, and during the outage it proved invaluable. It sat on the wood stove and did everything I needed: simmering soup, warming water, and even baking a small cake. It’s remarkable how much a reliable piece of cookware can contribute to comfort when modern conveniences are unavailable.
4. Velcro rollers
Practical little items matter. With no hairdryer or electric styling tools, velcro rollers became a simple solution—comfort and a sense of normalcy in small rituals. Sometimes you do what you have to do to feel a little put together.
With daylight as our primary source of illumination, I found myself reading more and settling near the kitchen window to paint signs and other small projects that didn’t require electricity.
On the fourth evening, returning home around 5 p.m., I saw a light glowing from inside the house and felt a sudden, deep relief. Four days was long enough for us. The experience left me with a refreshed appreciation for basic comforts—running water, hot water, dependable cookware, and small everyday items that keep life moving when the grid is down.
Storms like this are disruptive, but they also offer perspective. They remind us which conveniences truly matter and bring gratitude for the ordinary things that make life comfortable and safe.