lights out!

This year we have started a new tradition in our family. Every November we are going to have a "gratitude box". What it inside the box will change every day or so. Someone in the family will get to take the ribbon off and open it up. The first item we had in our box was a light bulb. We talked about what it meant that we had the power of lights and what they do in our family. The next day after school, the kids watched a great biography movie for kids on Thomas Edison. We then proceeded to live the rest of the day and night without any lights (we cheated a little and had flashlights since we didn't want to burn the house down.)

Victoria and Daddy doing Homework by flashlight. They are usually at the table.

You can see how excited Victoria is that she gets to snuggle with daddy!

Here are my thoughts of the experience:

1. Candlelight at dinner is a good thing. It was interesting how, when we turned off all the lights and just had the candles, the craziness level of the house went down drastically. I think we were able to focus on each other more than the distractions of everything else. Of course, the first few min. were spent with Abby trying to put her finger through the candle, which she did. After that, the conversation ended up being more mellow and cozy. It was nice. After we cleaned in the dark, we lit a fire in the living room and read a book called "wake up world" (from the library) which follows 8 kids from different countries with their daily routines. The kids were enthralled, and a little surprised at how differently some people live..

2. There is another play world in the dark. I think I had forgotten how fun it is to play with shadows on walls, or to play flashlight tag. After dinner we sat at the table and had an impromptu puppet show on the walls-everyone joined in. Aaron started the "running around the house with flashlights"thing. Abby and Meredith loved taking a bath with the candles glowing--the whole experience felt different. And, as I walked into Abby's room to tuck her in, she had already created a little world with her curtain and her flashlight hung on the wall. Sometimes I forget how much kids can do with just their imaginations...

3. Moonlight is gorgeous and underrated. As I walked up the stairs, I was stunned by the amount of moonlight coming through the three windows in our upstairs family room. I had never noticed the moonlight before! The moon was full, so we were able to bask in her light as we went to sleep. It is so easy to gloss over the glories of the moon when the lights are bright--there is no reason to look or appreciate. I am happier when I tune into nature.

4. Kids aren't always scared of the dark. For some reason, bedtime ended up being the easiest EVER! I was amazed that all the kids went to bed without one light. They each had a flashlight just in case, but they ALL went right to bed. I think what is shocking to kids is when all the lights are on, then they all get turned off and their eyes haven't adjusted. The moon gave us lots of light to walk around. It was peaceful. It felt safe. I didn't have to come back upstairs even one time to help facilitate the bedtime! Perhaps we will be doing this EVERY night......

5. Turning some things off can mean turning other things on. I thought this night would be annoying and we'd learn to appreciate light more. Instead, I learned that turning out some lights and shutting out the world made me feel safe and protected in a weird sort of way. I was more in tune with myself. I felt like I had more time with Aaron. I almost didn't want to turn the lights back on!

That being said, I do NOT want to join the 1.6 BILLION people without electricity (ps-that's 5x the population of the US). What was cool was changing up the routine at home. Perhaps we'll have do "lights out nights" more often!