So, Irene is headed our way.
Yesterday, the kids had some good friends over and were all playing beautifully, the baby was sleeping, and so I walked outside to get the mail.
It was absolutely beautiful day.
Like, a perfect summer day.
And, it was hard to imagine the storm that is coming.
Granted, where I live, we are inland, but all the weather channels and websites are telling us that we will need to “batten down the hatches” and prepare for big-time trouble.
So, we are.
But, right now, it seems silly.
As I walked down the driveway, letting the sun soak into my skin, it felt strange to know that I was doing all the laundry in the house, so it was done in case we had no electricity for a few days.
That there will be a bathtub full of water for flushing and there are cases of water and non-perishable foods.
That the kids are prepped to possibly sleep in the basement tomorrow night.
And, I started thinking how annoyed people are going to be if she shifts her path and goes out to sea; annoyed with the amount of preparation they did for nothing, instead of feeling grateful that they were spared.
I started thinking about weather and natural disasters and thinking ‘You know, I don’t live in California so I don’t have to experience earthquakes, and I don’t live in the Gulf region so I don’t have to worry about hurricanes, and I don’t live in the Midwest so I don’t have to deal with tornadoes, and yet we’ve had the trifecta of all of this in the past few months, here in NJ.’
It’s like all bets are off with Mother Nature.
In fact, I had to laugh when one of my piano students put as her Facebook status, “I think someone needs to give Mother Nature a Midol.”
My sentiments exactly.
Then, I started thinking, what does this all mean?
Global warming? End of the world? Just really bad luck for humans lately?
Who knows?
All I know is that the Chinese proverb of “May You Live in Exciting Times” is definitely coming to pass, recently, and these are some exciting and unexpected times.
So, for now, we’re keeping a cool head and enjoying the weather while it’s still beautiful.
Because, honestly, who knows what tomorrow will bring?
