Trip Ender, Round 2!

It's the third rainy day in a row, the rainiest day so far. So rainy, in fact, that late this afternoon we lost power, which means we also lost internet. The prospect of a very very dark night was upsetting enough. But worse? Andrew has FOUR INTERVIEWS tomorrow, on Zoom. And I have an essay to edit plus two Zoom calls with China-based students for essay coaching. None of this is possible without internet! It's barely possible WITH internet!

As I madly crocheted a set of spaghetti and meatballs to keep from panicking, we strategized. The power company's website assured us power would be restored by 5pm. If it wasn't restored, we knew we'd have to find a dog-friendly hotel in a nearby town and do all of our business from there tomorrow. Nutmeg, of course, would have to stay home in the dark. 

Greta--not a crier--instantly began crying, refusing to leave Nutmeg. What if there was a mouse, what if there was a wasp in the room, what if the house catches fire, there are no lights for Nutmeg, what if she escapes, etc. I mean, she's not wrong. Leaving Nutmeg alone is not what anyone wants. Sneaking Nutmeg's crate into a hotel room, and then dealing with an excessive hay mess and all manner of chaotic hotel-room shenanigans, is also not what anyone wants.

We decided to go to Books-A-Million and then out to dinner at the Weathervane for fried clam strips and just hope the power would come back on. And, indeed, when we arrived back home, we saw lights in the windows. Crisis averted. For now.

Tomorrow is still difficult--Andrew's interviews are in a solid 3-hour stretch in the afternoon, which of course is the same period of time I'll be out of the house for a haircut in preparation for my interview in Pittsburgh on Thursday. So the kids will be banished upstairs by themselves, hence our trip to Books-A-Million to restock their reading supply; they can't be on their phones or computers because our wi-fi doesn't have enough capability for that PLUS a Zoom call. Sigh. And then there's Farrah, who will either sleep quietly in a chair next to Andrew or bark maniacally when a group of horse-and-riders trot by. 

Will the power go out again tomorrow? Maybe! We had to game out worst-case-scenerios in Beth-and-Randall style while we ate our clam strips. Surely, we will figure it all out. Surely, speeding to a hotel between calls if necessary will be fine. 

I'll be happy when tomorrow is over.