The other side traggedy

It's been almost a week since our electricity came back on and yet somehow the whole ordeal is still the number one topic of conversation. Some of the yards have been cleaned up a bit from all the tree limbs and the remnants of trees litter the roadsides still... the fresh cut of a downed tree still exposed as if sharing a view into its soul. As I look out into my yard, I have flashes from the movie Fern Gully flickering in and out. In the movie there is a scene where a forest of trees is branded with red Xs on all the trees subject to the cut throat evil of the developers. And then there is a view of the trees who have already met their ill fated futures, cut down and sad.... That is how I view our area lately. The trees are all broken off mid way, or fallen over completely, some even taking the roots right with them. There are sections of our woods that will never be there same and the clean up is far from over. We've only hit the tip of the ice burg, and I know that even once the fallen trees have been removed and our pathways have been uncovered... these woods will never be the same.

Along with the stories of snapping trees and an inconvenienced few days we all had to endure in some way, there are the other stories being told. Some of them are heart warming tales of neighbors pulling together, sharing what food or warmth they had to give. Friends reaching out from towns away to bring safety and comfort to friends in need. There are the amazing workman, who have worked so tirelessly on our behalf, some working nearly 36 hours straight to bring us our most prized conveniences like cable and hair dryers.... Those are the good stories that I want to remember from this ordeal while others stick with me and make me want to be a better person so as not to ever go to the dark places I think some people go to in times of need and panic....
 

Right along with the good stories, there have also been bad ones. Tragic occurrences like these tend to either bring out the really good in people or show ugly sides of people we never thought could be there. I have seen so many comments on FB of people complaining about the power outage, as if someone was to blame for it. They want to pin it on someone and make them pay. I have heard of great loss and people making snide comments as if they deserved it and more.... only because those individuals were not in the "norm". I have felt the need to get these thoughts out, but then wondered if I really should, if the words would come out right...and then the other day it was just too much.... while praying with other moms at my homeschool co-op, it was brought to my attention that they have actually had to call out police to guard the men and women working on the power lines.... yeah, there is that kind of ugly in the world where the very people trying to help us, putting their lives on the line to work around such dangerous trees, and weather, aren't even safe from the people they are trying to help....

As for me, everyone keeps asking me if we've gotten back to "normal" yet and I just have to answer "no"... because I don't want to.... That first 24 hours of no power, I will admit, was a bit overwhelming and I felt a panic that I've never felt before. We get so dependent on things like water coming out of our faucets and lights turning on on command that we don't know how to function when they are suddenly taken away. After we got used to having to think out our next move, and plan how we were going to execute things, there was a simplicity to life that I don't want to let go of. I think that it takes times like this to make us stronger and to show us who we really are. I'm proud of the way we handled the situation, and while I was very excited to have power again.... I'm glad for the times we spent in the dim light of our little livingroom tent....I'm glad that we chose to take the high road and pray for those who didn't...