Power outage

A wild storm began to blow while I was in the grocery store. Rain, hail, thunder and lightning. The lights flickered, then they went out completely.

Darkness.

Seconds later, a few emergency lights illuminated, and notably — the cash registers.

I couldn’t see, but I’m guessing the refrigerators and freezers were connected to backup generators too.

It was pretty clear: Power’s out, but we can still do business.

It made me wonder: what systems do we keep operational, even during a metaphoric power outage? What habits and routines, what protocols do we maintain? What stays resolute when extenuating circumstances bump everything else off the rails?

What we keep protected — what gets attention during the outage — tells a lot about our priorities.