Sorry Boy Scouts…Being Prepared Sometimes Doesn’t Matter!

The last 48 hours have given me quite the yoga lesson. Yoga teaches us to be present…no regrets about the past, no worries about the future.  Learn to let go of the control, and let life happen.

Of the hundreds of thousands of us affected by Thursday night’s storm here in the Northeast, who really knew how bad it would be? I think back to two weeks ago, on Tuesday, Feb. 16th, the news was warning us a big winter storm. Grocery stores were jammed, schools and activities cancelled. Everyone braced themselves for a foot or more of the white stuff. And then……not much happened. All in all, here is Southern Maine we got about 4 inches of snow. Not a big deal. Much adieu about nothing.

So last week, as reports starting warning us for another storm, I barely paid attention. I didn’t believe them, and was too busy worrying and staying up with my son who had caught croup. As his fevered lingered for a fourth day, I couldn’t think of anything else, and knew that there are some things in life that don’t stop for weather.

And then it happened…we actually DID get pummeled with a storm, with winds over 90 mph, and my little town was completely knocked out of power.   At first, I secretly loved the opportunity to enjoy a quiet evening of reading, writing (still had battery power on my laptop) and going to bed early. But by the next day, I found myself frustrated with the uncertainty of how long power would be out, and how it would affect our plans.

Not knowing how many others were also knocked out (that is the beauty of power outages, isn’t it? When the media is covering the story on television, online and on the radio, yet you have no way of hearing any of it), I didn’t know how serious the storm damage was. I prepared myself for days without power, but then knew it could also come on at any minute. My daughter’s school, my husband’s work – both without power, but of course, he went in anyway. Home with the kids, we were totally unprepared. Milk, bread and the all important dish detergent were all low. My gas tank in the car was on E. Friends with a generator invited us over, and I gratefully accepted, having just given up on the woodstove since we hadn’t brought in dry firewood before the rain started.

We spent a few hours at their house, and in the meantime, my husband’s company finally threw in the work towel and he arrived home. On his way, he checked on a relative’s weekend home and realized they had power. We threw some things in a bag and headed there, calling the owners on the way.

Within an hour of arriving there, we heard power was back on at home. I had brought my laptop, my notes and assignments, a stack of books and magazines and enough food and clothes for the weekend. It could have been a wonderful excuse to have a last minute family getaway – especially since the cable was out over there. There was no TV or internet to distract us. But, the phone calls came, and we knew we could return home.  But why not stay? We were settled, warm and together. Why not enjoy one night of silence and togetherness, even though we didn’t HAVE to?

We returned home this morning. My house is a mess, I have come down with my son’s virus, and my mother-in-law is visiting. I was supposed to go to an overnight yoga retreat with my friends and fellow kids yoga teachers, giving me a much-needed break from motherhood and my family a chance to spend time with their grandmother. But I am so sick, I can barely get out of bed. I’m disappointed, but I have to admit — it’s not so bad being stuck in bed with my assignments, books and magazines. Even though I feel awful, it’s something I’d never do unless I had an excuse. Much like my family’s no-TV-no-computer overnight trip.

Whenever you feel stressed by the demands of everyday life, stop, look and listen. Try to see the opportunities presented, even when facing obstacles, like bad weather or illness. No matter how hard we try to control our own world, there is a greater force out there which sometimes brings us what we need, especially when we are too blind to see it.

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