Boom, boom, out went the lights

Last night, just after The Little Drummer Boy ended, the lights flickered for about 30 seconds before going out completely. It got real dark real fast. The boys' voices were alarmed as Jeff and I felt our way around in the dark to find flashlights and candles.

Once we got the candles going the boys settled down a bit but they were still not happy with the situation. Even though it was bedtime and it would be dark while they were asleep, they could not settle down. I went up to my closet and pulled out The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury. Adam and I read stories and poems aloud. We sang some favorite Christmas songs. The younger boys worked off some energy by acting out the stories. We all huddled together in the living room - the only room with light - and entertained each other.

Finally, we put the little boys to bed with a flashlight as a nightlight. Adam, Jeff and I sat down to play Parcheesi by candlelight. We couldn't see well but we could see well enough to tell apart the yellow, green and red pieces - it was a good thing we didn't have a fourth person who wanted to be blue. About 3/4 of the way through the game, the lights came back on without any fanfare. We rushed around to turn off things that had been left on and to reset clocks. We finished our game of Parcheesi and headed off to bed.

All in all, we had a good night. I learned that we need more candles and an oil lamp. We definitely need one good strong lantern type flashlight. I'm not much of a Little House on the Prairie type of gal - I was very glad when the lights came back.