The Winter Storm That Turned Texas upside Down

As a Texas resident who has moved here from the Midwest, I have had my share of snowstorms and power outages in the past, however, I have never been through anything like what I and the other residents experienced in the past 5 days. The temperatures were at record lows, everything is frozen outside and my other half is stuck at work this entire time. Needless to say, I was stressed and scared, but resourceful. What started as a snowstorm quickly escalated into an event that would not only test my resilience but also my survival skills. This storm showed me exactly how strong I am. During the five days, we were will out power for 2 and half days and without running water for 3 days. On the first day, I cooked using the BBQ grill. It was freezing outside but it wasn’t so bad while standing over the grill. My son watched me from the living room window as I drug the grill from the patio further away from the building, in 2 to 3 inches of snow. I remember thinking to myself, “This isn’t so bad, but I couldn’t do this every day. At least my son got a hot meal tonight. “as I cooked my son and me a few burgers each. I had just enough bottled water to get through the storm for us to drink, clean, and bathe with. As the days went on, the city began to rotate the power between the neighborhoods so when the power came back on, I would run the kitchen and began cooking like I was competing on Master Chief and I got Chief Gordon screaming at me. I would cook something quick because I had no idea how long the power would be on and I feared having half cooked food and no where to put it. I would boil water so could wash my dishes and clean my kitchen after I cooked. This is how we got through, but we got through.

We slept in my room for the days that we had no electricity. This room was the only room that I could get to stay warm. I had a couple boxes of taper candles I had gotten from Dollar Tree and put away months ago. I would not recommend this to anyone but I took a cake pan and placed 4 tapers on the pan. I made sure they were sealed to the pan with the wax so that they would not fall. I put the pan in the chair and lit the candles then I took a pot and propped it over the candles to try to create a small heater. This kept my room warm enough for my son and me to be comfortable during the storm, with our clothes and blankets. I was careful to keep the “heater” far from my son and bed so needless to say I did not sleep much during this time. I was okay with that because my anxiety was high and I would rather keep my son warm than sleep at this time. When I did nap, it was during the day when I could put the candles out without the house being too cold. It was just way too cold to put out our candles at night.

The structures of the homes and apartments are not built to handle such extreme lows in temperature so even when you have access to heat in your home, if the temperature is low enough, the heat will run constantly because it is having a difficult time keeping your home warm due to no insulation, which is costing people more in electricity. Electricity is also privatized here in Texas which is something I was not used to. I came from a state where it was illegal to disconnect the electricity once the temperature gets to a certain low. Once our lights came back on, we were without water for 3 days. Experiences like these can be both humbling and traumatizing. I remember being a kid when were times I had no idea what the next day was going to look like, and I had moments during these dark days where began to feel like that kid again, even with anxiety and trying to save face for my 3-year-old who thought the whole situation was an adventure, I was able to rise out of the mindset of inconvenience and downright fear. Somehow, I knew that no matter what happens, the snow has to melt so we just have to wait it out and pray we don’t take any more losses while we wait. Once reality set in that the situation was out of my control, I fed my son and read Maya Angelou's “The Heart of a Woman” out loud to my son until the lights came back on. We napped, we played, we prayed, we even cried, but we got through it. I have an even deeper appreciation for my child’s optimism, a comfortable home, for physical books, and my own past where I was able to find my way during situations out of my control. I understand that life is precious and anything can change at the drop of a dime. I want to also acknowledge and pay homage to the 57 Texas residents that died from hypothermia during the storm. Words cannot express my appreciation for overcoming this and showing me my true resilience.