Hurricane Season

It seems that we don't get to start enjoying the start of the school year, with autumn not far behind it, without first having to deal with hurricane season. I think Mother Nature could have done a little better with her timing than to throw wind, rain and storm surges on us just when we're trying to get the kids (and us) back into the rhythm of things. Take this week, for example. Our kids went back to school last week during a week that was so warm and humid, they had to put out heat advisories. The children sat in the dark because the lights made the rooms hotter. Some of the older schools only had fans. Over the weekend, a cold front moved in, and when I say cold, I mean 48 degree overnight temperatures and a high yesterday of only 59 degrees! So what's on tap for today, the beginning of a new school/work week? The remnants of one hurricane and the approach of another later in the week. These are the kinds of days you find yourself saying: "I just can't win."

How often do we go through a period where everything we touch just seems to fall apart, where no matter what we do or where we go (or, as in my case, what we touch ... a.k.a. electronics and streaming systems which have all decided to die at the same time), nothing works out for us. It's enough to make us throw up our hands, grab that pint of Ben and Jerry's, and zone out on Netflix (if it works, that is). 

Here's the real scoop (excuse the Ben and Jerry's pun) on this line of reasoning: no storm lasts forever. Even in nature, sooner or later the rain stops and the sun comes back out again. We know that, so why do we act as if we didn't? Because we don't like what we can't control, and we can't control the weather, or the technical glitches (darn that cloud!), or the actions of others. All we can do is remind ourselves of all the other times we ranted about our seemingly never-ending run of back luck only to wake up one day to sunshine and all problems somehow having solved themselves!

So when you feel as if you're getting hit with one storm after another, just remember that this, too, shall pass, and the sun will shine again, and you will survive once again. The proof of that? You're still here!  Good job! Keep up the good work!

And so it is.