What is up with the weather this year? I’m beginning to think Punxsutawney Phil should have predicted more than six more weeks of winter. We’re just a few days into spring and already, another nor’easter has come and gone. Yes, another. As much as I enjoy lots of snow and a frigid winter, when spring rolls around, I’m ready for Mother Nature to start warming things up. This year, she’s been hell-bent on keeping us guessing from one week to the next and terms like blizzard, nor’easter, and bomb cyclone, have become commonplace.
The first week of January, Winter Storm Grayson dumped 15 inches of snow on us. Since then, the daily high temperatures here in Ocean County, New Jersey have sporadically ranged from the teens to the high 70s. One week it’s shorts and t-shirt weather and the next we’re back in full-winter garb. As a result, everyone in our house has either had the flu or flu-like symptoms at one point or another. The constant back and forth between warm and cold weather even has Gracie, our friendly, furry feline, looking at us like, “Can I please move inside now? Please?”
This past week, the first week of spring, Winter Storm Toby delivered another foot of heavy, wet snow. The storm left our neighborhood without power for several hours. While I found the outage to be quite peaceful, not everyone in the house shared that perspective, especially not the kids. They were horrified at the idea of going without cable, the internet, or the Xbox for any extended period of time. It didn’t help that the power company’s notifications stated it would take more than 24 hours for the power to be restored. Fortunately, we ended up only going without power for seven hours and as you can imagine, a huge sense of relief was felt throughout the house.
It’s amazing how abruptly we’re reminded of all the things we take for granted on a daily basis during a power outage. Simple things like doing the laundry, washing dishes, taking a hot shower, turning on the heat, making coffee, charging iPhones, iPads, and laptops, or simply turning on a light. In the end, it was an opportunity to once again be grateful for the modern conveniences that we typically take for granted and that go unappreciated. Until the next nor’easter…
James
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