trapping mice in the dark

the wind storm began
on sunday afternoon
and by evening
more than half of the city
was without power

and this is a big city

stores were closed
schools canceled
gas stations ran out of gas
trees blocked roads
power lines were down

hurricane ike
reared his ugly head
all the way up here
in ohio

i cannot even imagine
what's going on in texas

we went without power
for almost exactly
48 hours
a very long 48 hours

little man wanted
to watch a movie
and after explaining
that electricity
makes the tv work
he wanted to know why
the electricity was still broken
since the wind had stopped blowing

and then he went on
to ask for a movie
five or six or a hundred
more times

it's amazing how much
we rely on technology
in every day life anymore
the kids seemed like
boats set adrift
without tv
video games
and dvd players

opened my eyes for sure

we had some good family time
grilled the meat from the freezer
(we still lost most of it
and all of the frig stuff too)
and just enjoyed each other
by candlelight

and my saving grace
was my favorite game as a kid
baby girl and I rediscovered the game
mouse trap
in the waning daylight
of the first day
with no power

the contraption
as little man called it
was awesome
and hours were spent
trapping those mice

i never knew i'd have so much fun
trapping mice in the dark
but i sure did