THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT C 2011 JoJo
THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT
C 2011 JoJo
Every time my husband went off on a business trip abroad, I knew with absolute certainty that something catastrophic would happen at home. An appliance would break down, the basement would flood, or the three kids would all get stomach flu at the same time, keeping me up all night changing bedding and pyjamas. However, the worst event of all took place in Montreal, in the winter of 1973.
My husband was off on a business trip to Italy, and I was left with three children aged 5, 4 and 3 years of age, at home in the middle of winter.
That night, the temperature dropped to minus 30 F with a strong wind, bringing the wind chill factor down to … well, I hate to think! There were advisories on radio and television, warning people not to go out, unless they absolutely had to, and if this was the case, be sure to cover mouth and nose with several layers of scarves because breathing that bitterly cold air could freeze the lungs.
That evening, suddenly the power went off. I heard through my battery operated transistor radio that a major transformer had blown and that we were to be without electricity for an indeterminate length of time.
So there I was, on my own, lighting candles and deciding what steps I had to take in order to survive and keep my children safe.
First thing I did was turn off the water mains, and empty the pipes, filling one bathtub with water for our use.
Then I got myself as warmly dressed as possible, covering my mouth and nose, and exited from the back door into waist deep snow, making my way to the log pile, which, needless to say, was as far away from the house as it was possible to be! The cold was brutal – my breath formed steam which settled onto my eyelashes, and froze. I felt as if I was chilled to the bone. Filling my arms with as many logs as I could pick up at a time, I trekked through the deep snow back towards the house. As I approached, I saw three little anxious faces watching me out of the window. I made dozens of painful treks to that log pile stacking up enough wood indoors to keep the fire going all night.
The house was cooling by now, so I got my kids dressed in layers of clothing: pyjamas, woollen sweaters, socks, mitts, hats, and bundled them into their sleeping bags, lining them up in front of the roaring fireplace like three little sausages, making sure the screen was secured so no logs would roll out.
Then I sat up all night, making sure I’d stay awake to feed the fire which was our only source of heat.
The power finally came back on at 9.30 a.m. the next day.
In a nutshell, that was my winter of discontent.
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Brrrr. I could feel my hair going crispy with the frost.
That wasn’t discontent. It was pure raw survival.
I sure was raw survival Jim and on looking back, I could’ve panicked but didn’t, keeping the situation calm and the kiddies warm I felt quits a sense of achievement after it too. Almost like a pioneer woman!! lol
The cold is bad enough by itself. The wind just cools everything so much faster. You were lucky to have a fireplace and wood. Still, with 3 small children, it must have been very scary for you.
It was very scary David, and having to go out dozens of time, in the bitter wind and waist high snow to get in my supply of logs to last the whole night, was really hard. But I managed to keep my kiddies warm, the pipes from not bursting, and hardest of all, I managed to stay awake all night to keep the fire going!
All in all quite an experience and one I wouldn’t want to repeat.
Thanks for your comment
Smart girl jojo! Amazing what we can live through….I agree it was great that you had a fireplace and wood to burn!!
Thanks Beth, you’re right – it’s amazing what we can live through – when we have no other choice! We made a point of never buying a house unless it had a fireplace – in a climate like ours, we have to have a guaranteed second source of heat. Nowadays, we also have a generator in case the power goes out in freezing cold conditions.
Jo it is amazing what we are capable of doing when we have others depending on us, especially little ones. Trips to the wood pile and staying awake all night long to keep the fire going had to be torture. Boy what lucky kids to have you for their Mom..
Thanks Lori – keeping the children safe and warm would be any mother’s primary concern, and yes, getting that stock of wood in and staying awake all night was very hard indeed. It’s not an experience I’d care to repeat!!
Hubby was off in Italy on business at that time, and when he got back home, he was surprised to find a disgruntled, very grumpy wife, instead of a smiling welcome home wife!! Poor guy!!!