I am convinced… I live among a bunch of whiners. Really shouldn’t be a surprise, but becomes more evident as widespread power outages persist following last Friday’s severe storm. It is so hard for me not to post a retort to friends on Facebook who whine about their power not being restored by yesterday and their electronic toys not working. Gimme a break. They haven’t seen a real disaster.

I have been in locations where real disasters have happened. People have died, hundreds of homes destroyed, lives disrupted and recovery takes months if not years. This situation in my home state, while inconvenient, is nothing in comparison. But don’t say that to people who can’t handle disruption of usual routine (and whose smart phones are rendered useless.)

Oh well, that’s how it is.

This is a photo from a local newspaper that shows the lightning display in Washington, DC, when the storm struck. This is a time when I use the word “awesome” purposefully.

Our lives are returning to routine. Our power was restored yesterday. Our AC wasn’t cooling for a long time, but I fixed it. An internal breaker in the fan coil had tripped.

Meanwhile, I am looking after seniors and disabled friends who have serious trouble coping with high heat, humidity, and inability to get what they need. I have run many errands and made trips to grocery stores and pharmacies. Not all have reopened, but many have. Life will get back to usual routine soon enough.

Being prepared for Mother Nature’s wrath is a way of life in our household. When the storm struck, we remained safe. We had plenty of batteries for flashlights (we never, ever, ever use candles for emergency lighting). We had a working generator connected through a transfer switch so we could power essential circuits in our home so I could cook and be comfortable. Sure, it was a bit unpleasant to be confined to hanging out in the coolest part of our house — the basement — but no big shakes. We survived.

I will continue to look after my senior pals and disabled neighbors until their power is restored and they can live comfortably again.

Life is short: don’t whine about your inconvenience; show those you love how you love them.