And God said…

Let there be light.

And so it was.

After my boys and I showered and did another load of laundry at my Mama’s house last night, we took the familiar drive south on I-95 to our neighborhood to avoid the dangerous intersections.

We turned onto our block and I licked my lips. My mouth was extremely dry. I was anxious to see if this was the night. Would we see light when we drove up to our house?

The electricity seemed to be playing a duck, duck, goose game on our block. Some had it, some didn’t.

I stared at the steering wheel as I pulled into my parking spot. I couldn’t bear to look at my front door knowing the window above it would be inviting or disheartening.

Before I got up the courage to look, I heard my son scream, “MAMA! We got lights! YAY!”

I looked up and sure enough the light streamed through every window of our duplex.

We walked in and did a happy dance while holding hands in a circle. I grabbed the phone and dialed my Mama’s number, instructing my sons to cheer when my Mama answered the phone.

“Hello,” My Mama answered.

“1-2-3!” I said and we all screamed in unison, “WE GOT LIGHTS!”

My Mama laughed. “I’m glad for ya’ll. It’s about time.”

“Alright Mama, let me go put these boys to bed.”

I hung up and looked around.

Ugh… The place was a mess, a hot mess. But I didn’t care. IT’s MY hot mess and I’m going to clean it all up myself.

As we lay in the twin sized bed in the dark, during our “tell me about your day” time, where they often regale me with fascinating tales about what they had for lunch, or who got into trouble, my son blessed my heart.

“Mama,” my 3 year old said as I rubbed the back of his brother’s head- he had just banged it on the wall by accident.

“Yes, Boo Boo,” I answered him as I watched him sit up and look out into the darkness.

“The storm knocked our lights out, but God turned them back on.”

“That’s right Boo, Boo.” I told him and rubbed his back. “That’s right. Thank the Lord.”

We have our power back after more than two weeks in the dark.

The world looks like a brand new place to me.