You Light Up My Life

 

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ~Genesis 1:3

We are definitely in the middle of a typical summer storm pattern here in the South.  The hot days cause a lot of evaporation that encourages the formation of thunder storms, possibly severe, to crop up in the late afternoons or early evenings.  Last Friday night testifies mightily to this seasonal phenomenon.

It's 7 o'clock, and Danny and I have just begun playing our ritual, after-dinner backgammon games.  Being the weather fanatic that he is, he has his phone open to his favorite radar detection app, so we have an accurate prediction of there the current storms are heading and when they might arrive on our doorstep.  As I mentioned in a previous post HERE, we rarely lose our power during storms, even in the worst ones.

But as life teaches us time and again, there are exceptions to every rule.

BOOM!  Our lights vanish in the blink of an eye.  Danny springs into action.  He grabs two flashlights within arms reach of the kitchen table and hands one to me.  Then down the stairs he goes to the laundry room where are emergency lanterns are stored.  He returns in no time and at least, with the extra lights, we can see enough to make do.  But what about our backgammon games?  It's obvious that one of our lanterns will have to be elevated so it can illuminate the board.

Yes, that's an industrial-sized roll of clear wrap we've had on our kitchen island since we purchased it in February of 2022, and it's still going strong!  It seems like a good idea at the moment, but we quickly realize that parts of the board are still in shadow.  Danny selects another type of lantern to sit on the other end of the board to see if that improves things.

It does, but something still doesn't seem quite right.  Yes, pun intended, a lightbulb goes off in Danny's head.  He has recently purchased a battery-powered light for his music stand, and has a strong feeling it just might do the trick.  Voila!

Happily, our games can now continue, even though I lose more than I win.  I wish I could say I'm a graceful loser, but I'm not.  Danny has so much patience for which I'm most appreciative.  After we play round after round, we're ready to switch gears.  Danny finds one of my favorite shows on my phone which we set up on a special tripod bought to make our FaceTime calls with family members hands-free.

The hour-long show concludes, and as it does, our power returns!  Just in time for me to get ready for bed without having to tote a flashlight with me.  And thankfully, too, with the a/c back up and running, we can rest assured of a cool and comfortable night's sleep.

I must confess that I have, at times, teased Danny about his prepper tendencies.  Not anymore.  He literally embodies that old boy scout motto:  Be prepared.  All his gadgets sure come in handy on this dark and stormy night.

So, honey, thank you for being here with me through the good times and the bad.  You always and ever, light up my life!

Amen!