LINDSBORG, KS (December 18, 2007) – Sharon Vagjrt\u2019s family may be having an old-fashioned Christmas this year – as in one without electricity.<\/p>\n
The local utility company, Kansas Power and Light, has said they may not have electricity restored until the holiday, says Vagjrt, a member of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Lindsborg. \u201cThey\u2019re telling us seven to 10 days from now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family is one of many across the Midwest in the same predicament since storms roughed up the region beginning a week ago Sunday. More than one million people were left without electricity. Although a majority of people have had power restored, tens of thousands of homes still face a long wait.<\/p>\n
Jon Black, pastor of Countryside Covenant Church in nearby McPherson, says some members have borrowed generators from neighbors. Others are staying with family and friends. \u201cOur youth pastor and family stayed with us for one night and the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The power at the Vagjrt\u2019s home went out early Tuesday morning. \u201cThe first couple of days you think, \u2018no problem, we can do this,\u2019 \u201d she says. \u201cA week seems like a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Branches came down all around the house as the storm hit early last week. \u201cI laid in bed and I could just hear branches falling,\u201d Vagjrt recalls, adding that she heard eight come crashing down between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. \u201cIt looks like a war zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vagjrt and her husband, Joe, are doing what they can to stay warm. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a fireplace and a lot of firewood,\u201d she says. \u201cWe sleep by the fireplace.\u201d Their teenage daughter has been staying with friends who have electricity.<\/p>\n
The couple constantly has to make adjustments to deal with the loss of power. \u201cYou don\u2019t realize how you are such a creature of habit and routine until it is disrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vagjrt is maintaining a good sense of humor about the situation. She laughs as she tells about taking a half hour to cook a can of soup on a single burner stove.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing else we can do,\u201d Vagjrt says. \u201cIt is what it is.\u201d
\nThe couple is approaching the situation with gratitude because it could be worse. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful that the limbs didn\u2019t hit the house,\u201d Vagjrt says. \u201cWe spent last night playing count your blessings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple is able to leave their home, which is not the case for everyone in the area, especially senior adults. \u201cI feel bad that there are a lot of people who can\u2019t get out,\u201d Vagjrt says.<\/p>\n
People have been helping each other. Those with generators have used them to help neighbors run their heaters until the houses warmed up. That assistance will need to continue. National Weather Service forecasters say there is likely more to come.<\/p>\n