We’ve all seen the warnings scroll across the bottom of the TV screen a hundred times. Severe thunderstorm watch. Take shelter. Secure loose objects. Most of the time, you shrug, maybe bring in a lawn chair, and go about your evening. This time was different.
The storm that rolled through Northwest Indiana this week wasn’t the kind you shrug off. By the time it passed, our power was out — and it stayed out for three days.
While It Was Happening
Before we ever lost power, there was a stretch of the storm that genuinely scared me. We have old trees around our house, and I stood there watching them sway harder than I’ve ever seen, listening to branches crack and fall. Luckily, nothing came down on the house itself, but I wasn’t taking that chance — I got everyone into the basement and kept us there until it passed.
Even down there, my mind wouldn’t settle. We have a sump pump, and all I could think about was whether it would hold. The battery backup kept cycling on, and every time it did, I felt this little spike of panic — if that thing failed and the basement flooded, we’d lose everything we keep down there. It’s strange how a storm can make you afraid of two different things at once: what’s above you and what’s below you.
Day One: Waiting It Out
Once the storm passed and the power was confirmed gone, we did what most people do. We waited. Surely it would come back in a few hours, right? That’s usually how it goes. We lit some candles, kept the fridge closed as much as possible, and told ourselves it wouldn’t be long.
It was long.
Day Two: What We Saw on the Way to My Brother-in-Law’s
By day two, “waiting it out” had turned into logistics. We packed up phones, laptops, and whatever food was still salvageable and headed to my brother-in-law’s house, which still had power.
The drive there is what really got me. It wasn’t just our street or our neighborhood — the damage swept across two whole counties. Trees toppled everywhere, power lines down, poles just snapped in half like they were nothing. It was honestly heartbreaking. Someone’s yard that they’d clearly put years into, just wrecked. A car that had been fine and running the day before, now with a tree across the back end of it — and you can’t help but think, okay, now what? How does that person get to work tomorrow?
Seeing that much damage spread across such a wide area puts things in perspective fast. It made me grateful for what was, honestly, just an inconvenience for us in comparison. I found myself praying for people as we drove, checking in on family and friends, just hoping everyone was safe. And in the middle of all that heaviness, there was something genuinely good too — the way neighbors pulled together. We have a well at our house, but with no power, we had no way to run it. Our neighbors did, though, and they gave us water so we could flush our own toilets and keep things sanitary. Small thing, maybe, but it mattered.
Day Three: Almost Leaving
By the third day, we’d made the call. We were going to pack up and head to another relative’s house, because at that point, it didn’t look like our power was coming back anytime soon. Bags were basically by the door.
And then, right before we left, the lights flickered on.
I can’t fully describe the relief of that moment. Not just because we got to stay home, but because for three days, home hadn’t quite felt like home. It had felt like a place we were waiting near, not living in.
What Stuck With Me
We were lucky. Genuinely lucky. Some of our neighbors are still without power, and some will be for another week or more. That’s not lost on me. Three days of inconvenience, a scary hour in the basement, and a sump pump that thankfully held — none of that compares to a fallen tree taking out your car or a roof, or wondering when the lights are coming back with no real answer.
It was stressful in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’ve lived it. The fear during the storm itself, the low hum of figuring out logistics for days after, the gut-punch of seeing how much damage was out there once we finally drove somewhere else — it all adds up, even when you come out the other side okay. And I think that’s worth writing down, if only so I remember it the next time a storm warning scrolls across the screen and I’m tempted to shrug it off.
If you went through this storm too, especially if you’re still without power, I hope things get back to normal for you soon. And if you weren’t affected, maybe this is a nudge to check on the neighbors and family who were.
Take Care Guys
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