After the Storm

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin — real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these ‘obstacles’ were my life.
—Fr. Alfred D’Souza

The storm hit Thursday and took a leggy maple and electric, phone, and cable wires down in the front yard and across the driveway. Our services are finally restored, and Tom will spend at least half the day reducing the tree to pickup bed sized limbs and making dump runs. I will be disposing of most of the refrigerator contents and trying to catch up with laundry, etc. Gavin will be having a small “film festival’ (videos on the couch) while I try to regain household equilibrium.

We spent the second hot, powerless night at a nearby hotel and I managed to revise one of my book chapters. I am writing about Harriet Beecher Stowe, and finding that one of her gifts was to weave writing in with her very hectic life, rather than trying to separate it out.

I love the quote by D'Souza: I suppose a real pessimist might say, oh, great, this is life? But I see it as an opportunity, as a reflection of deeper beliefs. Every moment is an opportunity to live fully and thoughtfully. Realistically, at least for most of us, a space will never clear where suddenly we have gotten all of the ‘busywork’ done. We have to find our spaces away from the hustle and bustle (today, a beach afternoon at our friend Cecilia’s) and figure out the best ways to weather our personal storms.