Day 11: Light

Note: This post was started at 1pm and progressed as the day did. I made no changes to previous content as time passed.

There's a light burning in my heart. It is the light of hope.

The precipitation over the weekend wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been for Springfield, and the repair work is moving ahead pretty much unfettered.

Four friends have regained electricity at this time. For us, this means that we don't have to worry about them much anymore (one is still without water because of a broken pipe, but has good neighbors) because they are safe and warm. It also means that the bunny we were bunnysitting has gone home. We'll miss his cute little fuzzbutt, but one of the housemates is allergic to rabbits, so it is a relief to know that her allergies won't be acting up as much now. *smile*

Tried to go to work, but was too late to do the job properly, so opted to try tomorrow as soon as I awaken. The car is still not working, and I think it is the fuel pump. We shall see.

My mechanic had to take his dog to the vet today, as she is not keeping any food down at the moment. I hope that she is alright and it is just the stress of having a bunch of people over at his house that is upsetting her instead of it being an actual medical problem *crosses fingers*

Picked up mother's car and her mail. I was able to get it to start, so we were able to get it over here to my house so that she can assist with driving duties and come and go as she pleases to have her own breaks from the closeness of our current community.

The street behind our house now has power, as do a good many stores in the area that were previously closed due to the outage. Driving around, we have seen many work trucks on the road, sometimes two to three to a street. Repair work is really picking up!

One family has gone from our home to be elsewhere in the hopes that their absence will lower the stress level in the house. It was entirely their idea, and I cannot think of a more sincerely sweet and self-sacrificing thing for them to have done this long into their power being out. They are true friends, and I hope that we can spend more time together in the near future, but at a time when it is planned as an adventure instead of being forced on us all as an endurance of necessity. Despite the stress of having such a full house, I refuse to go without mentioning how stabilizing their influence on the household was in such trying times. They helped us all, as we helped each other, to find joy and peace in the midst of the daily tasks necessary for basic survival and comfort. They have only been gone for an hour, and already I miss them. They helped to make the last 11 days more pleasant and tolerable than they otherwise could have been.

My mother and another friend remain, as their power is still out.

A friend has recovered a golden retriever from the area of Grant & Kearney streets. She tried to call it in as found to the humane society and animal control so that when the owners called, they could get into contact with her, but they refused to even take her name and number. With an estimated minimum of over 10,000 fences down in town, there are likely many beloved pets out and about, running loose, and possibly in danger. Please, if you know the owners of this dog, contact me via email at kryistina at Yahoo dot com to achieve contact with her to pick it up. (cross-posted to the Springfield Creative Recycling Chat group for maximum impact, permission granted to post this paragraph to other groups and/or blogs.