No Power = Long Night

The evening yesterday had a lot of surprises for us. It had been raining all day and gradually the temperature was dropping. I work part time, in the evenings, at Bath and Boy Works, so I was scheduled to go in at 5:30. Nate and I usually say hi to eachother in passing when he gets home from work, but it is only a couple of times a week. So, anyway, I get to work with a light drizzle out, nothing spectacular. The store is DEAD!! Like a ghost town, I figured it would be an easy evening. I had to do some stocking so I went in the back room to grab boxes. The back room is kind of creepy even without a power outage, but as I am back there the lights start to flicker. Then, the lights go out. One emergency light is all there was to illuminate the back room. I froze. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous. Amy, the girl I was working with, came back and then we went to the front. The whole shopping center was out. All of the restaurants were out; it was pitch black outside. A little scary. I get a call from Nate, and of course, our power at home was out too. Like I said earlier, the temp was dropping, so no electricity means no heat. I was fine at work, but my worries were at home. After about an hour at work our power came back on, but none at home. When my shift was done and we closed up I headed to get firewood. Got home and all the kids were asleep in the living room bundled up. Looked like a shelter in this house. Nate got a fire going and I got ready for bed...in the dark. The girls woke up and we just tried to make the best out of the situation. Talking and laughing, my girls can not laugh quietly so that was short lived. At about 11 everyone settled in and fell asleep...all except me. My family was snoring in harmony and I can't sleep with all that business going on. So I grabbed my pillows, put 5 blankets on my bed, and snuggled right in the center. At about 3 am all the lights in the house came on. I rolled out of bed, half asleep, and turned out all the lights. Don't know the reason for the power outage, but it made for a very long and cold evening.