Blizzard, 2013!

     I lived through the Blizzard of 1978. I was only ten. I have good memories of it for the most part though. No school. Sledding with neighborhood kids for hours. Hanging out with my sisters. I can't imagine all of it was good though. It was a tough time. It was cold and there was snow, down power lines and tree branches everywhere. Snow drifts were huge.
    Memory can be like that though. Once time passes we often remember more of the good than the bad of what remains. Having woken up in Falmouth today to the remains of Blizzard 2013 it hasn't been easy. My house was cold, there were no comforts like hot water to shower, heat to warm my body or electricity to brew the coffee.
  My first thought was to cry.
 I soon realized that tears wouldn't clear the driveway, get the coffee made or warm my house. I decided to take a deep breath and do what I could instead.
I gathered wood and made a fire in my kitchen fireplace. I found a metal grate to fit over the logs and used a small sauce pan to boil water, a skillet to grill a bagel. After coming in from a solid hour and a half of shoveling in the snow that simple cup of coffee and warm bagel felt like the most satisfying bit of breakfast I'd ever had.
And I have to say I'm blessed to have some of the most wonderful neighbors around. They called to check in on me, invited me to use their oil stove if I needed to cook again or to stop by if I just simply needed some company. It hasn't been the most pleasant day overall. I've been cold for most of it and shoveled lots of heavy snow. And simple tasks have taken on a more challenging dilemma- I couldn't run the dishwasher or finish the load of laundry downstairs.
And I had to cancel plans I'd been looking forward to.  I didn't get to take my daily walk-something that brings me a little bit of peace every day either.
 But I have a feeling that what will most remain in my memories from the Blizzard of 2013 is not the minor inconveniences but the ways that I found the courage to take care of what I needed to. And finding  a fresh perspective to solve every day simplicities like how to get that cherished cup of morning coffee.