Power Trip

Frequently my mind makes comparisons with the society and lifestyle that we live with today and what it must have been like at different times in history. What impact would something that we take for granted have on someone from a distant time period? For instance, how would Mary Todd Lincoln, an adventurous sort, react if she were sitting next to me in the car on the interstate headed into Chicago? Or what would Laura Ingalls Wilder have to say about the clothing choices offered to young girls at the typical shop in the mall?

Sometimes I imagine the situation reversed. How would my life have been different if I had been born in another time period? Could I have kept my mouth shut in a time before women could vote or have any political influence? Could I have worn a corset or a bustle? Could I have dealt with housework before the convenience of electricity? I complain enough as it is.

For no apparent reason, the power went off at about 2:30 this morning and we were transported into the past several hundred years. Again. In fact, this happens so often out where we live that even in our sleep, we automatically switch into survival mode and hurry to complete the few tasks that must be done before it is too late. We run clean water into several pitchers and then put as much water into the bathtub as we can before the tank off the well loses pressure. We light candles in strategic places (all ready and waiting) to keep us from tripping in the dark. And I take a meal out of the freezer that can be heated on the gas stovetop. Eventually when it starts to get stuffy, or the sound of the dog's panting is keeping us awake, Hubby will stumble down to the basement, throw a couple of switches and then fire up the generator in the garage. We have to avoid using electronic equipment and its not enough to run the central air though. We have it so rough.

I wonder what the Proverbs 31 woman would think.

*originally posted 8/12/07