Just last week, the two of us got hit by a severe and unexpected rainstorm. There were genuinely high winds and torrential downpours. Our electrical power went out at as early as three o’clock in the afternoon. With no electricity at our disposal, both of us had no running water, lights or air conditioning. This situation started out as an aggravation and quickly it turned into a nightmare. Because of the constant rain, both of us couldn’t open the windows. Our home quickly became overheated and clammy inside. We each hoped our power would be restored quickly, although I eventually had to light a bunch of candles and then dig out the flashlights. Making dinner was also a considerable challenge, because I couldn’t use the microwave or stove. I also had trouble seeing what I was doing, and without running water, I was also unable to wash up afterward. Sitting around in the dark for hours with no internet or TV wasn’t all that enjoyable, so we both decided to go to bed early. Unfortunately, both of us failed to get any sleep. There was no opportunity of falling asleep without the a/c on. I laid on top of the blankets but still sweated profusely. The rain had slowed a bit by that point, so I opened our family room windows. There was not enough of a breeze to give adequate relief from the heat. Plus, our neighbor’s dog was barking non stop at full volume. The dog was so loud, it sounded like he was on the other side of our wall in our family room. Without power, I couldn’t even run a fan to drown his barking out. We went without electricity for another 20 hours. I am now looking into a standby generator, because I don’t ever want to go through something like that again if I can prevent it.