iCrucified

Back to Normal

Things are starting to get back to “normal” around here now. About four days ago we received an unnatural amount of snow for the lower Puget Sound region; estimates ranged from 12″—18″ in Olympia, WA (where we live) and some surrounding areas. While the snow is beautiful to look at as it makes everything seem to clean and serene… and it provides some fun with sledding, skiing, snowmen, and snowball wars, the long and short is that it can get tiresome and quick. And, it did.

We lived in the Northeast (Northcentral, PA and Western, NY) for most of twenty years, so we are accustomed to long seasons of heavy snowfall. The difference between living then & there and here & now is preparation and familiarity. When living in the Northeast, it was not uncommon to get a foot or more of snow with temperatures below zero and winds gusting 20—30mph and still not see roads and businesses closed or school cancellations. The type of weather there was expected; people learned to live with it and prepared accordingly so their lives would be minimally impacted. Conversely, when you do not see weather of a particular magnitude but every ten or more years, it doesn’t make practical sense to prepare and budget for it every year…you just deal with and take your lumps when they come.

That’s where we were for the past few days, dealing with our big, frozen, and no electricity lumps. We have our power back now and most roads are cleared, so life is returning to normal for the most part; however, there are still thousands of people who continue to be without power. This is serious stuff, well past the minor inconvenience stage, so prayers are welcome for restored services…

This post isn’t all about inconvenience though. The approximate two days we were without power were good days for me. I enjoyed the quiet. I enjoyed having my wife and son huddled under blankets hanging out together with me in the same room. I enjoyed our conversations and listening to them share the random thoughts that popped into their heads. I liked looking around at times to see each of us buried in a book reading… wondering what adventure they might be on in the story they were reading. I liked when the sun went down and we illuminated our dark apartment with candles and flashlights…there was something cozy and intimate about those moments. I enjoyed writing in my journal by candlelight while Laurie and Josh combined efforts to complete a jigsaw puzzle. While it might not have been four-star cuisine, it was comforting and satisfying to eat food out of a can and it was neat to be able to legitimately justify the reason for having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for every meal. I was a little bit disappointed, like when a great vacation comes to an end, when all of the sudden at the end of our second day of being “snowed in” the power came back on. While shouts of exuberant joy went forth from my wife and son, my heart sank a wee bit… knowing that this “inconvenience” was ending and now going into the memory book.

And so, we’re settling into our “back to normal.” I don’t know that I like that, back to normal… too many things it seems get taken for granted and I don’t like that I am so quick to presume, assume, and take those things for granted.

You know the things I talk about: electricity, food, the ability to come and go as you wish, the convenience of going to a store to get what you need and/or want, light, entertainment, internet…the list continues. There are other things too that we take for granted: the closeness of our family, meals together, conversations…random thoughts shared unconditionally between loved ones, hearing their dreams and their fears too…listening to them breathe while they sleep next to you. And, realizing how blessed you are and thankful that you have been reminded of things that are truly important. Snowmaggedon 2012, I will miss you and I am grateful to you for the days we had together in the quiet, in the cold, and making memories together…me, Laurie, and Josh. May we never get swallowed up in the “normal” of life, but always be ready to make the most of those sacred “abnormal” moments.