Snowpacolypse ’21

What funny little things we humans are.  So many of us thought 2021 would bring about a dramatically better year.  And, to be fair, some things are starting to slowly improve,

But just when you think it’s safe to go back in the water what should happen but… a week of total breakdown in our modern systems due to inclement weather in Texas.

This is our third day without running water and we are very lucky.  People across the state do not have power and we have had it this whole time.  The record breaking cold and snow and ice have completely frozen our poorly constructed infastructure.   We are trying to keep our heat turned down low and our lights off to preserve what energy we can for those in need across the grid.  My daughter, her boyfriend and my little, red golden retriever grand dog are all here too, stuck with us.

I feel like a useless appendage.  I have been tired and not much help with scraping ice and shoveling snow.  My bones are basically full of holes and I am afraid to fall down outside and snap myself in two.  I have been cooking as much as I can but today’s cooking adventure in peanut butter cookies was vetoed as a waste of energy.  Ok.  I guess not?

I just don’t have much to do because my work and everything else is canceled.

I have had a hard time concentrating on anything.  I guess it is because I have the more immediate concerns of getting the dogs out and collecting water from drippy faucets when I’m lucky, and boiling drinking water.

The above was written on snowpacalype day three.

Today is snowpacalypse day 4:

I am a little better today.  I mean my attitude is better, which helps. To be honest, after infusing my Igg on Tuesday, I didn’t sleep that night so yesterday was sort of awful.

Today is what it is.  I am trying to roll with it.  I am making 16 bean soup and Spanish rice.  If someone wants to grill fajita meat we can have that for dinner too.  We actually made it out of the house and went  the 1/2 mile to Costco and back.  It was pretty bare in there but I was glad to go.  It was probably not the best Covid decision but I was masked and didn’t stay long.

I am trying really hard NOT to think about how awful this is in terms of catastrophic failure of the electric and power grid in our state goes.  This whole week has been catastrophic and will still leave behind it a trail of dead people.  As if Covid hasn’t taken enough lives now more will die senselessly as a result of poor governing.  That makes me very angry.

This whole situation had made me reflect on the fact that I am more fragile than I would like to be.  I have to be extra careful not to fall on the ice because my bones are brittle.  The stress and the cold have made me  hurt worse and feel sick to my stomach.  I am not included and some of the outdoor plans and that really sucks.  I understand but I still feel isolated and yucky about it.

I want my old body back! It wasn’t all that great but I would give anything to walk back and re-do whatever it is I must have done wrong so I could not be sitting where I am now.

I am not feeling sorry for myself.  I promise.

I just want to know if there were time travel, could I fix this by somehow doing things better?

My dad always warned me to not follow in his footsteps.  He was sick a lot:   a heart attack at 42, emergency quadruple bypass at 54 and then dead of renal cancer at 66.  He always told me that I had to slow down and calm down and not care so darn much about everything.  He was worried I would get sick too.  I know that there is more to it than that but I wish I could have heeded his warning somehow.  I also hope I make it past 66, since he and my uncle both died at that age,(brothers).  My siblings have already outlived our sweet daddy.  I still miss him every day.

So, what has this to do with the snowpacalypse?

Much later date:

I don’t  think it had anything to do with the snowpacalype.  I think I was freaked out and stressed because we were in the middle of a natural disaster!

That is my prognosis and the truth.

Snowpacalype was a tough, tough week for us and the rest of Texas.  I am going to end this here: It was character building.