It’s 8 pm, your friends are just getting up from the couch to head home after a rousing game of Catch Phrase. Then, *POOF * lights off, heat stops, silence…except for the ipod dock that continues wooing Carla Bruni by battery power.

What do you do?

Head to the closet, where you have a first-aid kit that houses the flashlights. You first click on the 2 inch keychain light, which sends forth a small orb of light. That helps you locate the bigger, more powerful MagLight. “click,” No light. Shoot. Out of batteries. You think about the battery-powered lantern that would be perfect right now. It’s in the camping box…in storage in the basement. Not going to help tonight. Now the pen light leads you into the kitchen where you have conveniently stored the candles in the cupboard above the fridge that you can reach only with a step stool. Luckily, you decided to buy these candles during a recent trip to the Williams-Sonoma Outlet, or else you might be out of luck! At least the lighter is in an easy-to-access drawer…and is full of fluid. Once candles are lit, you can help everyone gather their belongings and send them out into the emergency light glowing hallway, then into the night.

Now, you check on the baby, snoozing soundly. Cover him with an extra blanket against the possible heat-less night. With one candle on each bedside table and one burning in the hall bathroom you settle into bed. Reading by candle light is sort of cozy. Just before you fall asleep a list begins to form in your mind: buy new batteries for MagLight, bring the camping lantern up into the main closet, buy some non-designer candles and store them with a lighter in a convenient location. Maybe buy some mustard to eat with all of the tuna in food-storage. Oh, and it would be a great idea to stash a can-opener up there with all of those cans.

This was a good test. A great reminder to be better prepared. How’d you do?