Our Experience
So during that big winter storm in February of 2021, basically the entire Texas power grid failed, and huge parts of the state lost power. In Austin, our electricity went out and stayed out for about four days. At first we thought it would just be a few hours, but it became clear pretty fast that this was going to be a lot bigger than that.
When the power went out
We were lucky in some ways… like we had a fireplace, which helped keep the house from getting dangerously cold. We also still had gas, so we could use the stove and keep fires going. Only part of our neighborhood had gas… so we could have easily been in the other group that did not and I am so grateful we had it.
Getting COVID at the worst time
However, we were unlucky in other ways because we got COVID. Our toddler got us sick. Thankfully our daughter happened to be staying with her grandparents at the time so she managed to avoid it. Being sick with COVID while the power was out was a memory I hope to never repeat. My husband and I were taking turns sleeping and watching the little one. For both of us it continually got worse, but for my husband, he was struggling more to bounce back. We ended up taking him to the ER after the power had resumed but due to the changes that COVID caused, the hospital had lowered the acceptable blood oxygen level to no longer make his levels considered dangerous so we were sent home and given some albuterol and a breathing machine. He did finally recover in case you were worried about where this story was going lol.
The pipe burst
Our second bit of bad luck was that while the power was out, a pipe burst outside because it hadn’t been insulated well enough. So while the electricity was out, we were also without water for the rest of the outage, and then for a few days after while it was being repaired. Since the power came back before the water did, it somehow made it feel like it dragged on even longer. We did have some bottles of drinking water thankfully, but we were having to boil snow to wash our hands and faces. Believe me toddlers get dirty fast!
That whole week felt like it blurred together.
A lot of checking the weather and trying to get internet access to get updates from friends and family. Basic things like heat, water, and light suddenly didn’t feel like things you could count on.
We were very fortunate compared to others… I know plenty of people had it worse. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard. What’s so funny about looking back at these images is that my little one was pretty consistent the whole time. He was still a smiley little boy who was mostly unbothered by all the events.
Now, gearing up for this next winter storm in a few days, I can’t help but think about that week. Here’s hoping that this storm doesn’t cause any major outtages and that you (nor I) have to deal with COVID or any other sicknesses during it!
