When the Lights went out in Ladera....

Yesterday was the 2nd day of school, and all was well. It was a typical day, and after picking up the kids from school, we headed to Taekwondo class just down our street. In the middle of 'Hiya' flykicks, suddenly the A/C and lights went out. We found out that the whole Pavillions plaza had lost power. Then we found out the whole Ladera, then south OC, down to Mexico and even parts of AZ had lost power/phone connection!

Even antisocial hubby came out to chat, since the house was pitch black!

We spent pretty much the afternoon doing homework and housework, because after the sun goes down, we'll be sitting in darkness! We had cold leftover chinese food with cold rice, then went outside to hang out with neighbors. All the neighbors had gone outside to chat 'cuz it was hot and getting dark, so it was like a big party!

I met neighbors I never knew, as many people moved in and out this past year. We marched down our street and shared our ice cream sandwiches, as they were melting and not likely to last for too long, just like manna!

My buddy Suzanne couldn't get Antibiotics 'cuz CVS was closed!

Hubby took 1.5 hours to get from Oso parkway to our home, and so were the dads on the block. So us moms chatted, some of them breaking out the wine and cookies. The kids played basketball and chatted, and at the end of the night, surrounded the only electronic device still kicking ~ thanks to dear Blake and his iPad.

The kids had the opportunity to learn about what life was like in grandparents' generation, and the simplicity of it having no electricity, TV, computers, cell phones, or other things that consume our days today. We learned the simple joys of chatting with our neighbors, and just 'being'.....as we were on the same boat that day. We have so much and yet we often miss out on the most important ~ time and bonding with loved ones and neighbors! So yesterday, we tasted the goodness of friendship and the kids will remember this day for a long time!



p.s. Thankfully, power was restored after about 8 hours (11+ pm to be exact), and my mooncakes (and food in the fridge) survived!