1. My closest neighbors (who also happen to be some of my closest friends) came over three hours before we even lost power with a pitcher of margaritas and stayed three hours (and another pitcher of margaritas) after we lost power.
2. Gayle Weinstein calls ME with updates at least twice a day even if she has absolutely nothing new to tell me since her last call (yes multiple times a day she calls regular resident ME!....okay, me and all of the other regular residents that signed up for the alert messaging system).
3. Our town leaders (much like me) are cautiously optimistic pessimists and prepare us for the worst (e.g., we don't really know when we will have power or school again, but it probably won't be anytime soon), while hoping for the best (e.g., sure go ahead and call CL&P, here's their number). Plus they pick great movies to show for free at the high school!
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4. The sight and sound of generators around every corner.
5. Peters will always find a way to open so I can buy a half-gallon of organic milk for $4.99.
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6. The "Ladies of the Library" (and I truly mean that in the most respectful way) are delightful to chat and commiserate with after any and every storm.
7. The Weston Walkabout - you know when you finally venture out with your children and your dogs to get everyone some much needed air and exercise and end up having the most lovely conversations with the most lovely people right in the middle of the road.
8. The National Guard literally rolled into our town to help. How awesome is that? I initially thought it was cool to see my neighbor Rob coming down the street with a chainsaw, but then the National Guard arrived......so much cooler, sorry Rob.
9. Trunk or Treat - tons of kids, tons of candy, not a ton of walking. It just might be the greatest innovation to arrive in the land of two-acre zoning and I think we should make it a Halloween tradition regardless of weather.
10. Because, according to my daughter, "we always win" (and for a young child who associates 90's with good grades and great basketball scores how else could you interpret our top billing). Yes, rarely can you find another town on the CL&P outage map with a bigger number than ours. But where else could you find another town like Weston? Weston's a winner.....even in the dark.
Michelle Albright has two kids, two dogs, a PhD in Psychology, and occasionally a bear in her backyard (check out some of my other Patch blogs if you want to hear about that one....). She is a Weston resident with no power and a lot of extra firewood and currently directs Albright Educational Consulting which provides a range of services for children, families, and schools. She will be speaking about procrastination's virtues and vices in a workshop on study skills and homework habits presented at the WIS PTO meeting on Thursday November 8th at 10 am (if there is indeed school!). Come to listen or visit www.albrighteducationalconsulting.com to learn more.
