Isn't It Amazing

Yesterday, storms rolled through here - they were amazing! Lightning from clouds to the ground - then lightning from cloud to cloud - the wind blew, the rain fell, hail! Darn it was something! Then, the sun came out and a double rainbow! Isn't that amazing? It got me to thinking how life can often be a thunderstorm so strong and mean we don't really know if we can survive it; yet when we do, there is often a rainbow at the end. We have to feel the power of thunder shaking our foundation so we can really appreciate the peaceful calm of sitting with our loved ones watching a television show. Something so simple - Life has many "momentous" occasions; moments when we celebrate with grand fair. Yet, somehow I think it might be the apple martini while sitting on the front porch after a long day at work - this simple moment - these are the moments which make our lives. (These are the days of our lives - ever notice how you can stop watching a soap opera for ten years, then go back, and most of the character plots are the same?) Life is not a soap opera - though it may sometimes feel like one. While the momentous occasions alternate between joy and sadness - there are so many more easy moments; and these are the moments which are the pieces to the puzzle we make out of our lives. The whole picture becomes a scrapbook of laughter which takes place when there are no "big" things going on. Of course those "life changing events" change our life - hence the term life changing - our personal growth and maturation is shaped from the big moments - when you think about who you are the "big" moments come to mind - what about the little moments? What about the quiet times? I use to watch my niece sleeping - she was a few months old, my sister was in the hospital, so I was  helping out - I watched her sleeping - it is an indelible memory; beautiful, peaceful, powerful - Yesterday, I felt the thunder shake the house, watched the lightning put up a show - it was amazing! It was somewhat scary, spent too long in LA where there is no weather - Part of the resiliency of those of us who have grown up in the North Country comes from our surviving winters; seeing that first robin come spring - see this is a small moment but one I remember year after year - Women are not limited here in the North Country - anything he can do she can do better is a standard because everyone has to pull their weight - just a fact of life - there is a lot of work to be done so everyone has to do their part. I mowed a lawn the other day, finished, then stood back admiring my work - it smelled good, my lines were straight, it looked good - small moment, one I will remember. I know there are big moments that will continue to take place - moments and events which will change the course of my life; then there will be that duck who thought my golf ball was an egg and sat on it - that will be a memory, and a story I will tell over and over. Working on checking things off my bucket list, catch a fish, go to the Baseball HOF, tubing (which I did not know was such an absolute blast) finish my book; not big things - You know how sometimes you find a real bargain on a great pair of pants or in my case a sweatshirt? This is a moment to remember - and you will every time you wear that sweatshirt or pants or dress - I am going to take more time to absorb the thunderstorms - though today's rain is cramping my catching a fish plans - we should relish more of the little moments - the smell of home baked bread; the taste of homemade jam; sitting on the porch with our loved one, sipping wine, Mountain Dew, or a nice apple martini - whatever it is - the journey really is the gift! All of us will end up at a destination, depending on what you believe - can't take anything with you - somebody said the other day; "You never see a Uhaul following a hearst." Small moments fill our lives with meaning - tell someone you love them, make dinner for your partner, call a friend you have not spoken to in a while, call in sick then go to the mall and shop, all that big stuff is going to happen; good and bad. Truly is smelling the roses we remember! How amazing is that?