In September, a massive wind storm hit my town, remnants of Hurricane Ike. Strange, since we live in the middle of the country, far from any coast. Trees fell, lines were down, power out, neighbors emerged from their cocoons to find out how others were faring. We lost our power for six days. Doesn't seem bad when you consider there are still some people in Texas who still don't have power, over a month later. But it wasn't fun.

We started out acting like it was the pioneer time. We had a camping latern, candles, flashlights. The kids thought it was fun. I just wanted the power to come back on before the food in the fridge went bad. We still had our cell phones, so we could call people and ask how they were doing.

Day after the storm, my husband leaves for a conference. A week long conference. So, I'm home, alone, with no power and two kids. I can do it, I think. We get an invite from a kind neighbor (six houses down, with power) who saw us eating a McDonald's breakfast and took pity on us. We also got invited to dinner at her house. Very kind. We didn't really know her before the storm, but she watched out for us, checking on us, making sure we were o.k. and had what we needed.

Lots of people offered help, their houses for laundry, anything we needed. But I found it hard to accept, at least in the beginning. Not sure what's up with that. My kids certainly didn't want to sit around in a dark house and contemplate their navels. We visited neighbors, baby sat for a couple who's daycare was dark from the storm, enjoyed a picnic dinner with several neighbors - everyone bringing along whatever was defrosting from their fridge and freezer. It was a great time, neighbor helping neighbor, talking about your experience. What did you do when you ran out of hot water? How are you heating up the baby's food? Is your office back open yet?

We decided, on day three, that we should have a Blackout Party each year. Get the neighbors together. Why does it take a storm to introduce us to each other? Don't get me wrong, the neighbors are friendly, wave when they pass by, occasionally ask how you're doing. But we don't really know each other. How many kids does she have? Where do they work? How long have they lived here? Simple questions that aren't raised during a quick hello.

So, the picture, my daughter jumping waves. I thought it made sense. Jump to it. Get involved. Get around your neighborhood and meet those neighbors. Find out who is living right next door. You may discover you have a new friend, like we did. Next time, we won't wait for the power to go out.