Getting Ready

By 8:30 am today our house was filled with the sounds of a jackhammer and Jake’s barking. There were multiple workers trudging in and out because we had stupidly scheduled the basement lighting installation and the installation of a sump pump at exactly the same time.

I thought the electrical guys might pack up and leave, but instead they put in their earplugs and continued to do what they came to do. Everyone was very cordial, but there was a hint of friction in the air.

We desperately wanted the sump pump to be installed since the basement has recently become a sieve in one corner and we are going to have hurricane rains dumped on us over the weekend. We may still be in trouble if the power fails because the sump pump is electrically operated and a backup battery would have cost us an additional $500.

We had purchased lawn tickets to see Mary Chapin Carpenter at Wolftrap with friends tomorrow night. We have wisely decided to bag that and just have a hurricane potluck instead. It’s fortunate we hadn’t paid big money for the inside seats because there are still going to be gale force winds to contend with. The Wolftrap people say the show will go on whatever the weather, but that remains to be seen.

My husband commented tonight how wonderful it would be to know if and when we will lose electricity and for how long. But what would we really do differently if we had that information? I will be doing my cooking for the potluck early just in case the power leaves us.

We are very much looking forward to our daughter coming home hopefully before Irene arrives.

But tonight we can say, “Goodnight, Irene. Please let us off easy this time. After all, we’ve already been through an earthquake this week.”