'It's just everything': Families in Moore County relieved power is back after days left in the dark

MOORE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- After days without electricity and in some cases no water, families in Moore County are back on the grid and trying to get back to life before the county was left in the dark.

For Jessica Lineberry and her daughter, getting back to normal life includes a trip to the grocery store to restock their refrigerator. Families lost hundreds of dollars worth of food over the last four days.

"It was hard," said Lineberry as she stood outside the Food Lion on Monroe Street in Carthage. "Whenever you have children and not having those resources that you used to have."

But relief finally came for families like Lineberry's. Customers started to see power restored as early as Tuesday afternoon.

"You think nothing of when you turn on a light switch, but whenever you don't have power for a few days, and turn on light switches it means... it's just everything," Lineberry continued.

"It's a great feeling," said Edward Williams who lives in Carthage.

He said the power outage put a few things in perspective.

"Being without power teaches you some. Kind of makes you check your reality. This was unexpected. So, nobody really prepared for it . But it's a big relief. This is a big relief to be able to cook, you know, to do just everyday things," Williams explained.

As much as this experience was a lesson in resiliency, neighbors also say it was about community. It's something Ariel Matthews found out quickly.

"We moved in last week and then lost power about two or three days later. So, I've been unpacking in the dark," said Matthews.

The new neighbor isn't putting too much focus on her welcome to the community. Instead, she's doing her best to bring in her own light.

"I think it's important to celebrate and find the things that make you happy rather than focus on, it was cold, or we lost power like, oh, this was such a negative experience. No, I got to know my community. I got to see who's going to be here to support me. I got to see what friends were reaching out to me and it's Christmas. So, I'm going to put up lights," she said as she placed Christmas decorations in her yard.

Matthews said she's doing her best to get back to what is expected during this time of year.

"I think especially seeing people bounce back from an emergency quickly and efficiently kind of takes the steam out of whoever was trying to do whatever. So you're not going to affect us. You're not going to take away Christmas, you're not going to be a Grinch," she added.