Winter bites

When I began this blog, I decided early on that I wanted my site to be a positive one. I would feature stories on life lessons, motivation, and positive thinking in addition to the occasional piece on leadership or writing. Some weeks are easier than others.

After a relatively mild winter, the recent wave of storms brought a layer of snow and ice to my hometown. Around here, we take the threat of winter weather extremely seriously. Almost everyone here has stories to tell about where they were stuck for six hours the time that winter precipitation fell faster than the value of a new car after it has driven off the lot.

My son was overjoyed when school was released early one day and cancelled altogether the next. “A snow day,” he shouted, punctuating his excitement by throwing every single toy he could touch on the floor as he ran about the house. His younger brother joined in with eager abandon. Soon the bridges and overpasses weren’t the only dangerous crossings I had to worry about.

I have a hard time stringing together a thought under these conditions, let alone put words to print.

The hubby turned on the news. We were both curious as to how long we might expect the snow (and this housebound ‘fun’) to last. The governor had declared a state of emergency. Record lows were forecast. Power lines were at risk of falling under the weight of the ice. This storm could be a killer. Other news stories around the world were featured; these stories featured mostly violence and hate.

The word “Warning” flashed red and yellow across the screen in big bright font. You couldn’t miss it if you tried. The text was replaced on the screen by a man in front of a fireplace surrounded by pristine white cots. He was a representative of one of our local shelters. It was a commercial, but not one selling product or asking for money. Instead the group was using the ad space to inform the public about the number of beds they had available, urging the community to send those without shelter his way.

I received an alert on my phone. It was a message from my neighborhood’s social media site. In it, a nearby resident was offering the use of his Land Rover (and its four-wheeled drive) to any in need of emergency transportation, all they had to do was call. A few people must have taken him up on his offer because the next several messages in the chain were of thanks.

There is a lot of terrible news out there. There are events outside of our control. There are stories that make you question your faith in the rest of humanity. There are hundreds of reasons to burrow deep into homes and into ourselves, but there is good worth sharing too. I would even argue these stories are even more worthy of sharing.

I am not blind, nor do I live in some happy world of denial. There is white stuff littering the ground outside (and did I mention it is cold), but I’ve chosen to keep my site a positive one. This means I bundle up and do my best to keep the fire burning. I refuse to succumb to the bite of winter no matter how very tempting it might be.

Stay warm.

If you have any similar stories you think are worth sharing, please feel free to comment below. Feel free to add a link to your own.