Boston, MA (Part 2)

As I made my way back to Boston to spend another week with my brother, Nichole, Parker and Evie, predictions about Hurricane Sandy began to sound more serious.  Unsure where the super storm would hit, I was happy to be with my family as the details continued to develop.  I arrived in time to pick up Parker and Evie from school with Nichole and was relieved that they were still excited to see me after we'd spent a whole week together when I was the rule enforcer (a role I rarely play when their parents are around).  Hugs and kisses were dolled out freely, so I figured I was in the clear!

We had a busy pre-Halloween weekend that included a soccer game, the costume stroll at a local park, a dinner party at some friends of my brother and sister-in-law, an unexpected sleepover party with 2 friends of Parker and Evie and Chinese School.  We did all of our preparation for the storm and hoped for the best.  School was cancelled for both kids on Monday and Tuesday as a result of electricity being out to much of Newton (even though we never lost power at the house) and I was happy to have 2 more full days to spend with the kids when they otherwise would have been in school.  We had very high winds, insane amounts of heavy rain and loads of downed trees throughout town, but no damage to the house or cars which was a relief considering how bad things got for so many other people.  My parents in NJ lost power on Monday and suffered through until Wednesday when it came back.  The kids and I were in the middle of a FaceTime chat with my Dad when the power went out at their house, so we knew the exact minute that it happened.  We are all thankful that a power outage was the extent of the issues we experienced due to Sandy.  With nearly all of my family (and a large number of my friends) in the impacted areas, I feel very lucky.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people who lost loved ones, homes, cars and other possessions.

In Newton, things were mostly cleared up by Halloween night and we did our trick-or-treating in the neighborhood streets surrounding the house.  Evie was a leopard and Parker a ninja.  They have a tradition of trick-or-treating with their neighbor, Eddie, who was a Chinese dragon.

Parker on the soccer field

Evie the leopard

Parker the ninja!

Some of the kids checking out a motorcycle leaving the parking lot

I had brought the kids tons of their favorite neon glow stick bracelets and necklaces, so we lit them up and hit the streets in search of as much loot as their bags could hold.  When we got home both kids counted up the pieces of candy they collected (68 for Parker, 80+ for Evie - she took it literally when people said, "take as many as you want"!)  I had asked them to keep an eye out for Kit Kat bars while trick-or-treating and both of them graciously shared a Kit Kat with me before bed.  It was a fun night and I was already dreading having to leave in the morning.

Since my parents got power back on Wednesday, I kept to my original plan of heading back to NJ on Thursday morning but I added a quick lunch stop in Hartford with my friend Renee.  I helped the kids get ready for school and enjoyed a nice breakfast with them before the crying began.  Parker let me know that he was fully aware of when Santa comes and that was too far away for our next visit and Evie simply wanted to make sure that I would come back again next year for Halloween.  :)  I wiped my eyes, packed the car and hit the road again.  I can't wait for Christmas...

Renee and I gorged ourselves on sushi in Hartford before I continued onto NJ.  As a result of Hurricane Sandy power outages, gas was unavailable throughout most of NJ and NY.  My Dad suggested I stop in Danbury, CT to fill up since I would be unable to get gas anywhere near their house.  I got off I-84 at 3 of the Danbury exits and none of the stations had any gas in their pumps.  I continued onto Brewster and Purdys, NY with the same results.  I finally decided to try the Mt. Kisco exit. I drove 4 miles off the exit to a BP Station where I waited 20 minutes to get to a pump.  By the time I filled up the line behind me was 75 cars deep.  Most people were in a panic since power was still out and generators require gas to run.

More on my upcoming week in NJ in the next post.