The 1991 Ice Storm & 2020 Coronavirus

Life is...The 1991 Ice Storm & 2020 Coronavirus

Yesterday was not a great day for me. I let fear get the best of me.
+Not fear of the virus but fear of how our life has been altered so quickly and completely by those in power.
+Fear of how long these changes will take place.
+Fear of what the "new normal" will look like and when.

+Fear of the economic fall out of these closures.

Last night a great memory came to mind - the 1991 Ice Storm. Yes, an ice storm - some amazing childhood memories come from those days with no electricity.

Now here's how I remember it - it may not be accurate - you would have to ask my parents, siblings, aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandma. 

Because the ice storm knocked out the power our family went into town to stay with my Aunt Karen, Uncle Jim, and 3 cousins. At least they had running water, because in the country when electricity goes out you don't have a pump to pump the water into the house. My grandma and grandpa also came to stay with all of us; they lived in the country too.

I don't remember...
...how we stayed warm (was there a generator)?
...being in fear.
...wondering when the electricity would come back on.
...wondering if the food would go bad in the freezers.
....worrying about how to cook the food.

This is what I remember...
~Having an amazing time with my family.
~No electricity. No TV. And loving it!
~Playing countless games, including MASH!
~Playing outside (I remember a snowmobile and building a snowman and fort).
~Sitting in the dark with candles and talking and playing.
~Going to my aunt and uncle's locker - I don't remember if it was to check on things or get food - I just remember having a ball playing in the dark, lobby area.

We had such great memories that for YEARS we would pray for another ice storm. Of course my parents were like....NOOOOOO! But what a testament to living through a hard, frustrating time and showing your kids the best part of it!

I want my kids perspective of the coronavirus not to be of fear and things that were taken away, but a memory like I have of the 1991 Ice Storm. 
And for their memories to be good I need to be in a healthy place - a place of love, peace, and generosity.

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Peace

Life is...Peace

I walked into my grandpa’s room and immediately bawled. I tried to stop, knowing it wouldn’t help him, but this was not my grandpa. He was not the man who gave me rides in the nail bin at the hardware store where he worked, not the man who took us to Chicago to see the Cubs play, not the man who bid on a pinochle hand before picking up his cards...and mostly won the hand, to my dismay :) 

Though his body was still there, his spirit seemed absent.

It had only been a few months since I saw him, but the change was drastic. 

I attempted to talk about the weather, football, Christmas...nothing. Not knowing what to do, how to spend this one-on-one time with the grandpa I loved, knowing it was probably one of the last times I’d have, I held his hand and read the Christmas story - Matthew (minus the first 17 verses :)

An instant peace fell over us. His hands stopped shaking, the constant moaning ceased, and all was still. He even began to really hold my hand and truly be present. If I stopped for a drink the shaking and moaning returned, but as soon as I began reading it was an immediate change...a Christmas miracle.
Our time ended with Grandpa being able to tell me, “I love you!”

Though I want to remember my grandpa as he was before that day, I will always treasure the special moments we shared on our last Christmas Day together as I read about Jesus coming into the world to dwell among us and His promises.

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