Getting Back to Tai Chi

Last night I made it back to Tai Chi for the first time since the Great Northeastern Halloween Snow Black-out.   It felt so great to just breath.

Our power finally came back on Wednesday night after going out Saturday afternoon.  

Needless to say, not having power for five days majorly disrupted my normal work-out and eating regime.  

It was kind of like being on a vacation without the actual fun of being on vacation.

Did I mention that our town canceled school for THE ENTIRE WEEK???   So I've had a bored ten year old to contend with and a 16 year old autistic young man bouncing off the walls because his normal routine was disrupted.

Then, there was the whole cancer thing.   I was dragging the kids, or trying to schedule sitters, so that I could make the rounds with my surgeon, oncologist and radiologist.

The shala were I normally practice was closed because there was no power, and I couldn't practice in my normal home yoga space because there was over a foot of water in it.

Plus, after three days of living in a cold, dark house were we couldn't flush the toilets, we finally abandoned ship and went to live with my girl-friend.  

Now, with the kids out of school it was impossible for me to walk outside.  I also couldn't utilize my treadmill because there was no power.   Taking the kids anywhere to hike on Sunday and  Monday was out of the question because there was snow on the ground.

With both my yoga shala and martial arts dojo closed due to lack of power, my usual exercise schedule was completely trashed.

I did manage to take a few walks with my girl-friend once I moved in with her and the snow melted, but she doesn't walk as far as I normally do.   I also took the kids for a couple of walks in a park near her house as well.

So last night after getting back in my house, being able to go to the dojo and practice Tai Chi felt so-o-o-o good.   I've been able to get back on the treadmill, take the kids for a hike and this morning I dragged the kids to the shala to wait while I practiced yoga.

What can I say about what I've been eating?   Well, with no power it was hard to cook.   I have a gas cook-top--THANK THE LORD--but for the most part we took the kids out to eat to get out of the cold, dark house (and use the toilets).   I only ordered salads and grilled fish, but it was still probably a higher caloric load than I usually eat.

Did I mention the water in my basement?   It came in handy to flush the toilets.  Every day, several times a day, I'd don my rubber Hunter boots and walk down the stairs to the basement, fill the buckets with water, and go up to the bathrooms on the first and second level.  I'd fill the tanks with the water from the buckets and flush.

We live in an early 19th New England Farmhouse.  The plaque on the house says it was built in 1825.   Whenever we lose power all I can think is that while I'm inconvenienced for a few hours, this was how people lived full time.

Well folks, I have to say.  After having two extended power outages in the last 3 months, and living without electricity, heat and even running water, I know that I am SO-O-O-O happy to be living in the 21st century and not the 19th.

Now if I can only keep the power on.