The last few weeks have been difficult, exasperating, painful and pleasant — all at the same time.
I never dreamed that in my lifetime (as I am sure many of you didn’t either) we would experience anything like a pandemic.
I’ve always heard my parents, aunts, uncles — and grandparents, too, when they were alive — talk of storing up food to survive. I suppose I was never sure what we should store up for or what we would be surviving. Apparently, I wasn’t paying attention in school when the word pandemic was introduced. Or maybe I was absent that day. I honestly have just never given it much thought. But here it is and we are surviving it.
On our homefront, Clay and I continue to work to produce the newspaper each week. Our little home crew, consisting of Brandon, Kelsey and our grandbabies, stay busy with various activities, and son-in-law Ryan continues to work. We try to go out, only if necessary, and take precautions in doing so.
Friday was a pleasant day. Kelsey brought the grandbabies over and our activities included dyeing Easter eggs and hosting a tiny egg hunt for two in our front yard. Last year, our home hosted the annual family Easter get-together. There were many in attendance and it was exciting to watch the little ones run through the yard to find colorful eggs — each hoping to find the valued “queen’s nest.” This year our two precious grandbabies carried their baskets into the yard and with the help of their mom, dad and granddad quickly found all the eggs. While it was fun watching them, the excitement level just wasn’t the same.
Saturday afternoon, the husband decided to mow the yard in anticipation of the upcoming rain and storms. Later that afternoon, I saw many Facebook posts about the upcoming stormy weather and the threat of tornadoes. I am a scaredy-cat when it comes to bad weather, and so is my daughter. We have always had a plan of action during tornado weather and where to be in the event there is a threat. So, Kelsey and I discussed the safest place for them to be in their new home.
A few months ago, we had 14 extremely large pine trees cut down near our home. Many folks have asked us if we regretted cutting them down. I can say honestly that we don’t. Anytime there was stormy weather, we were always afraid that the wind would blow one of them down on our home. During this storm, that was not one of our worries.
Usually with any rainy weather, my arthritis is flared up, and it has really been giving me a tough time lately. Sunday was no exception. I decided to turn in early, knowing that if there was a threat of a tornado Clay would wake me. I took my medication and went to bed. Now here is a little humor for you. (After all, you must find the humor in situations. It makes life more fun.) Not long ago we bought an adjustable bed. It will allow you to raise the head or raise the lower part of the bed under your knees. I have absolutely loved my bed and enjoyed it so very much, although I’m not sure my husband would say the same. I find myself adjusting it all through the night to find different positions of comfort.
Sunday night, I had been asleep for a couple of hours when suddenly I woke to someone tapping on my foot. I see Clay and Brandon standing at the foot of the bed and they tell me that the weather is really bad and that I need to be alert. So Clay goes back to keep watch, while Brandon pulls up a chair to talk to me. I raise the head of the bed and then raise the lower portion of the bed — not quite a sitting position, but still one that allowed me to be more upright. The lights flicker. Uh oh! They usually flicker several times, but not this time. On the next “flicker,” they were out. You guessed it; my bed is electric. So Clay and I spent the night sleeping in a somewhat upright position with our feet in the air. That was no fun, but I had to laugh about it.
Monday, we were still in the dark. Clay and I rode around to check storm damage then ventured over to check on my parents. My mom offered us hot coffee and breakfast. This was my first time out in three weeks, other than work. We came back home where my little crew expressed the want of coffee and breakfast. So, I took my percolating coffee pot, built a small fire on the fire pit on our patio and made coffee, followed by sizzling hot bacon cooked in a cast iron skillet over the same fire. A country girl can survive. Ha!
Very late Monday afternoon, the lights flickered and then popped on. I quickly, loudly and excitedly asked Brandon to run push the button to let my bed down. He made it just in time, before the lights were out again for a while. Thankfully, the Tallahatchie Valley crew had them back on before the day was over.
Meanwhile, all of Charleston remained without electricity because of several downed power poles near the city. This meant The Sun-Sentinel office was out. We worried about how we were going to produce a newspaper. But our son-in-law managed to secure a generator and spent several hours hooking it up for us at work. What a blessing!
Even though times have been difficult, they have seemed simpler to me. And, go figure, I like simple. Although, I can surely do without a pandemic or bad weather.
Krista McFerrin is the office manager at The Sun-Sentinel.
