So there was this snowstorm, as there sometimes are in New England in the winter.
Well, to be fair, it isn’t really winter yet. Winter doesn’t come until the 21st which, according to my calendar, is weeks away. Still, the weather didn’t wait and there was, as I mentioned, this snowstorm.
Heavy wet flakes started falling early morning here and didn’t stop until the wee hours of the next one. The kind of snow that makes for the most excellent snowball fight – sticky and wet and heavy. The perfect snow for building forts and men and all sorts of things.
And, apparently, the perfect snow for felling trees and assorted branches.
Oh dear.
And me? I’d tidily finished the fall by cleaning out all of the leaves and debris in the yard. Trust me when I tell you that it was picture-perfect. I raked and swept and mulched and it all looked so New England-y, and so postcard-y.
I was feeling a bit smug about it all, to tell the truth.
So maybe it serves me right that there are now a hundred million twigs, half that number of branches, and one very large tree that have fallen in my yard and on my property.
Okay, not an entire tree. Just half of it. Enough of it to block one of the entrances of my circular drive.
Oh dear.
I was bummed for exactly thirty-seven seconds.
Exactly.
Because, you see, I’m learning to do things this year. Learning to rake leaves and grow gardens and create perfectly mulched flowerbeds. So yes, I knew I could deal with this too. I mean, it took me thirty-seven seconds remember that I could.
But I did remember.
This, I think, is one of the most life-changing things – remembering.
Remembering.
Remembering good times with family and friends.
Remembering that nothing lasts forever – not even pandemics.
Remembering that you’ve made it through 100% of your worst days, and you’ll make it through this one too.
Remembering.
God knows.
Well, God always knows, so that’s not really a surprise.
That’s why she told the Israelites to remember. Remember when they were in dire straits, and she brought them right back to center. Remember how they lived through hard times and hard things and hard life, but then lived on and somehow found joy and good and home and happy again.
Remember.
And so, I do.
I remember that I, too, was once in dire straits.
You too? Dear me. Must be a human thing, huh?
And then I remember that I found center again.
You too? Wow. Just wow.
I remember that I lived through hard times and hard things and hard life, but then lived on and somehow found joy and good and happy again.
You too?
Of course you too.
I don’t know if you’ve had any random trees fall down in any random snowstorms lately, but if you have can I just say?
You’ll make it through this too. You always have. And you always will.
And, in the end, remember this:
you now have one less tree’s worth of leaves to rake next fall.
And that, my friend, is a true blessing.
~xo,
LuAnne
