I’m so relieved right now, you guys.

Why?

Oh, just because, after an approximately 36 hour power outage at my current place of residence, the lights just came back on.

And, before you read any further, know now that I’m more than likely going to get braggy about myself in a minute.

So, hidden truth revealed here–I live out in the country. I mean, more isolated than the boon docks. (Most of the time… since, if you didn’t already also know this about me, I tend to bounce back and forth between different homes with different family members pretty often, too.) And, surprise surprise, amenities are hard to come by out here. I mean, and I’m not kidding you, upgrades from dial-up internet have only reached these parts in the last 5-10 years… so, yes, I actually lived without “high-speed” until I was nearly in high school. And I’m still in college now, so you do the math if you want to on that.

But, like I said, I’m used to roughin’ it. And it goes deeper than just dealing with 3G speeds… ever heard of a port-a-pot before? Or maybe some people call them porta potties… well, either way, I’m not talking about the big green plastic boxes that you use at outdoor concerts and construction sites; I’m talking about the ones you take when you go camping, and they look kind of like a big bucket with a lid.

If you’ve never taken care of business in one of these… hey, you really haven’t lived!

And so, guess what I’ve been doing the past two days? I’ve sure been livin’ it up… AKA peeing in a bucket in the backyard. Well, inside of the camper in the backyard…

But, you know, I am pretty used to camping without electricity for, sometimes, weeks at a time (never in excess of two, though), and being without electricity for 36 hours is basically just like camping. I mean, the house is already surrounded by woods and wilderness, and I can hear coyotes when I go out back to take the last pee before bed at night. But… with camping, you’re a little more prepared to give up the electricity (or give up the power, if you will), and you do it a little more voluntarily than when it storms and puts the house in the dark for two days (which, for the record, I’m just going to mention often happens at least once a month… though usually not for days on end…).

I mean, sure, you have to pee in a bucket a few times… so what, right? But, let’s not forget, you also have no choice but to give up things like air conditioning, a working fridge, the microwave, all of the lights, any running water of any kind… and, the worst one, television.

I can already hear the city dwellers screaming at the thought.

But, you know what, our Amish neighbors do it every day. I do it at least once a year (though, due to COVID-19, I may not get the chance to camp this year… well, actually, this kind of made up for it, didn’t it?). And how many people are there in underdeveloped countries that do it 24/7 without a choice?

I feel very lucky to live in a place and in a time that I have access to things, really, as simple as running water. Or, actually, clean water at all. And, I’m assuming, if you have the ability to read this right now, you probably have at least this access, too.

So, I want to invite you all to feel lucky as well. Electricity is, relatively speaking, a pretty recent invention, and not everyone even has it yet. You and me both have it (with internet access and some internet-compatible device to go with it to load this screen on top of it!), whether it’s super reliable… or a bit more low-quality, but we still have it. And, really, it’s an amazing thing that we shouldn’t take for granted!

Eh, other things can come up and worry us or freak us out, but… you know, we still have all of this–electricity and more. And I am super grateful for that.

–Kari 💡