ICY FRUSTRATIONS

The power was flickering. The faucet water was trickling. The ice was relentless. I watched through the bedroom window as people slid down the hill, a portion of it which was now frozen solid. This has been a storm unlike any I have experienced whilst living in Texas. Though I have lived in several places where it has snowed, those cities were prepared. Texas is not.

The frustration mounted as I watched the water ease its way slowly out of the faucet. I wondered how long until there was no water left and how we would be able to function without running water. With dishes continuing to pile on every countertop, and more than usual, I grew anxious knowing that at some point we will run out of clean bowls and pots for cooking. Somehow I needed to keep busy. For someone who spends a majority of time in the kitchen, that can be very difficult to fathom.

An email from school arrived later in the morning letting us know that school is cancelled until next Monday. That was the best news my son could get. An entire week without classes. However, he did continue reading two chapters each day of his teen spy novel and is the only one of my three children who takes to reading books.

We took some time this afternoon to make brownies with some of the chocolate I chopped on Monday. They tasted fine, though a bit too cakey for my liking. It also could have used a bit more sugar. The next time I make them, I will test out the changes. We enjoyed the brownies and took some to the neighbour. I put the thoughts of having to clean the bowls out of my mind. That will have to wait as the bowls will join the other piles of dishes.

My thoughts turned back to the water shortage. The water was being shut off to the entire apartment complex as pipes burst in some of the homes. I then went to fill the bathtub with water but for some reason did not realise I should have filled it up more than halfway as we have no idea when the water will return. It was a matter of time before we had no water at all.