Survivor: Long Island Edition, or How My Family Coped With No Power for 10 Days

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How my family and I made our roughing it into our own version of "Survivor: Long Island."

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This article is not about bashing LIPA, Optimum, or any Utility Service that experienced outages during Hurricane Sandy.  I am going to share with you how my family and I made our roughing it into our own version of "Survivor: Long Island."  Fortunately, we did not have to attend "Tribal Council" or vote anyone off.

We spent the first few days taking turns telling funny stories and playing board games until we were bored.  We had fun eating funny food combinations.  The Halloween candy was a tasty treat to snack on.  (I didn't realize how much we ate until I had to empty the trash can full of those little wrappers.) 

Once it got dark, we were each armed with our own personal flashlight.  The big lantern stayed with me at all times.  Our evening activity was huddling around my husband's laptop to watch a movie.  I bought a jar of old fashioned popcorn to pop on the gas stove.  My kids had never seen it cooked in a pot.  I took the opportunity to make it into a science lesson.  It was a tasty learning experience and we might not go back to pressing that magical button on the microwave oven.

With the temperature dropping, we decided to "camp out" in front of the fireplace - it seemed like a great idea.  Well, talk about a silly bunch.  There were odd sounds coming out of everyone.  Then there were the endless good-nights in different voices.  It was really fun.  I think that we should make the slumber party a regular event.

I live with die-hard football fans. We had throw-back Sunday, listening to the Giants game on the radio.  I personally found it more enjoyable than watching the game.  It was fun to hear how excited the men got calling the game.  I also loved hearing the description of the team's uniforms too.

As soon as the power returned, my family returned to our normal electronic dependent lives.  Everyone will be talking about the negative effects of Hurricane Sandy for a long time.  I hope that my children remember the positive - the fun that we had together.

 

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