weather, Weather, WEATHER, WEATHER! Whether you like it or not

Who would’ve guessed a Veggie Tales tune that was played for my young children on repeat would influence a blog two decades later? The “Homophones” song (a song about words that sound the same but have different meanings, thank you Larry the Cucumber) is still sung by my twenty-somethings children whenever bad weather is expected. Armed with storm essentials (flashlights, batteries, candles, water and non-perishable) we faced down hurricane Helene.

The good thing about the timing of Helene is that she came while I was at my oldest daughter’s house. That would be the daughter with a meteorology degree and a brand-new fancy weather station. I had no fears. She guided us through blizzards in PA since she was ten years old and I knew she had been watching Helene’s Florida direction for much longer than the average person.

Helene came and went and we quickly realized how lucky we were this time. There were thousands without power, extensive flooding and/or sand washed on to their streets. I’m not talking about a little bit of sand, there are several feet of sand on the streets and on the cars. Some people have completely lost their houses. All of this is so tragic, but it only reinforces how lucky we were to have wind and rain that sounded terrible, but with God’s arms around us, we were safe.

Here we are a little over a week later and this time we’re taking things more seriously. My meteorology daughter and fiancé are boarding up their house (where I stayed so safe during Helene) and getting out of town. Their plans are reviewed and modified on a regular basis, depending on what Milton is doing at that particular moment.

In life we all face our own storms to “weather” through. Sometimes we choose to dance in the puddles from small rainstorms, like if the grocery store is out of stock on a favorite item. While at other times life deals us a hurricane, like a death of a close family member, a lost job or as is the case now an actual hurricane. Whether we allow the weather of our lives to penetrate and shut us down or if we try to move on in a positive direction is our choice- whether we like it or not.

Good thoughts being sent to all Helene sufferers trying to find normalcy in a day, and everyone bracing for what Milton is bringing. It’s weather, whether we like it or not.