In the more than 50 years that I have lived in the country we have had two Christmases when the electric was out. If you are used to country electricity you know that it used to go out frequently. Thankfully, we have fewer power outages these days.

The first Christmas without electricity was shortly after I moved to the country. My children were very young. We were living in a mobile home. If you know anything about mobile homes, you know that they are similar to cars. They warm up quickly, but they also cool off quickly.

My in-laws were supposed to go to her sister’s house for a smorgasbord. They always went there on Christmas eve. That meant chores were done early. Since the electric was out, that meant they had to get the generator going. Pop knew that he had to help do the chores otherwise my husband would never be done.

I was in the trailer with my two children. It was getting cold. They began to complain. I talked to my mother-in-law and she suggested that we come over to her house. She did not have electric either, but a house stays warm longer.

We ended up in her bathroom.

The water tank was in there and it was gas so it put off quite a bit of heat.

I grabbed up some books and some puzzles for our great adventure in grandma’s bathroom. We were warm enough and we had plenty to do. We also planned some pencil and paper games. We kept warm and had fun.

They scrapped their plans of going to Diedra’s for the evening and we all stayed home. I am not sure when the electric came on, but it definite made for a late bedtime.

Dick and I had Santa stuff to get ready. That year I think we gave Jill a doll buggy. The drawback was that it had to be put together. As my husband worked on it, he discovered there were some pieces missing. A quick trip to the barn and he had what he needed to get it together.

We were truly thankful to go to bed that night. It had been a long day. The next day was fine. We celebrated at grandma’s house and enjoyed a good dinner and a lot of presents.

The second Christmas without electricity was more recent than that. My husband was gone and I was on my own. We celebrated with dinner on Christmas eve. The electricity went out early that morning. I had to make my potato salad. I could not even cook the potatoes and eggs. My son, who now lived at the farm had a generator. He got it going and invited me to come down with all of my fixings. He did not have electricity all over, but enough to run the stove and the lights.

I cooked the potatoes down there. I also hard-boiled the eggs. I like to put my salad together while the potatoes are warm. I think that the flavors blend better that way. I think I ate lunch with them then came home. Still no power!

We used to go to the church service at our little church. After that we came here for our Christmas dinner and gifts. The lights came on in time for me to get ready for church.

I hurriedly got all of the Christmas lights lit and took off.

Sometimes we ate our Christmas eve dinner by oil lamp. I was not sure if I would have electricity so I planned to eat by the oil lamps. It sure creates a cozy atmosphere. Thankfully the meat was all cooked. We could have cold turkey if we needed to.

The electricity cooperated and we were able to have warm turkey and were able to see to open our gifts.

We have become so dependent on electricity. I guess we had to experience a day without it to truly enjoy what we have.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.