Image from Pixabay
Have you ever planned a candlelit dinner for two dozen athletic boys? We didn't plan it, either. It just happened that way.
Scoot is playing goalie for his school's JV soccer team again this year. The team has a tradition of meeting for dinner the night before each home game. Dandelionslayer set up the sign-ups, and put us down to host yesterday. I did some fretting about space and menu and cleaning and such, but felt I had things pretty much under control by one o'clock. I'd borrowed an extra rice cooker, the meat was seasoned, and the oven had preheated for a nice slow roast.
Then the power went out.
It was a calm, sunny day. What happened? A telephone pole down the road broke in half. I'm not sure why. Repairmen arrived soon, but couldn't fix the problem immediately. I prayed, made some calls, and took the meat to a friend's house to bake. And kept praying. Later I checked the meat and plugged the rice cookers in at the same house. Dandelionslayer came home, and we tried to think of alternative plans. And we kept preparing. But the lights stayed off.
The food was ready in time, and the other contributions arrived ready to go, no heating necessary. Dandelionslayer set up a serving table in the yard, hoping to inspire some of the team to stay outside in the dwindling sunshine. But they filled their plates and came inside. Only one dozen actually arrived, so they crowded around our table-for-six. We set out candles and camping lanterns. The boys joked about the atmosphere and ate their food, never noticing the unvacuumed carpet or the dust on the piano. No one could see it.
Nearly twelve hours after the power went out, I woke to the flashing of the alarm clock and the chugging of the washer, resuming its work. And I was grateful for electricity and candles, for sunshine and helpful friends and family members.
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