October 29

I was less than amused when the power abruptly went out at a little before one o'clock this afternoon. It was cloudy outside and only 64 degrees inside, and I was annoyed to suddenly be unable to turn on the heater. I was more annoyed when a text update told me that the lights would be off until after 8 PM.

But as it turned out, it wasn't all that bad after all. Since there was no TV, no wifi, and no kitchen appliances to keep me occupied, I took a walk and checked out the flowers. We may be approaching November, but we still have roses. And although it's not the same as my east coast experience, some of the leaves are indeed changing color. 

And then later, after he'd spent some time in his room (doing I'm not sure what), Brady sauntered into the family room, sighed, went outside, and set up the pitching net. He hadn't thrown in quite some time so it was a blessing to me to once again sit there on the deck while he worked. I gave feedback on his form, and to his credit, he took the comments seriously. He even devised an extra-goofy delivery and asked if I thought the coach would let him make weird noises on the mound if he pitches well enough this coming Spring. It was good Brady-and-mom time, and I am grateful to have had it.

The lights did eventually come back on --at around five, so PG&E successfully sandbagged the original estimate-- but for the unexpected blessing of a power outage that helped me to slow down and notice more and gave me precious minutes with my kiddo, I am grateful.