Uncertainty is my enemy. Preparedness is my talisman.
The nervous anticipation I have for unwelcome events is astounding. I sit, waiting for Hurricane Irene, asking myself repeatedly if I’ve done everything I can to minimize damage and inconvenience.
The unease is the same feeling I had waiting for chemo to start; knowing something is coming but not knowing precisely what to expect worries me. If I were told exactly what the hardship would be and its duration it would be easier. Blind movement forward can be a challenge.
My family will be together and I am sure we will stay safe.
I’ve done all I can. The eye is projected to pass within 5 miles of our house.
Hope you all stay safe and dry and out of harm’s way wherever you are.
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Stay safe. After all of the preparation, all you can really do is wait it out.
We are experiencing Irene right now, but Raleigh is far enough inland that all we have gotten is a lot of windy rain. I hope it’s not too bad for you. Stay safe.
living in indiana can relate to limbo with the tornado warnings, but ours are only a 30 – 45 minute wait not days. my current limbo: test results.
An attorney friend of mine once said, “This would be fun if we knew how it turned out.” I’m not sure I agree with him or your statement about things being easier if you knew what the hardship would be. Perhaps that’s because I’m a long way from being out of my own personal storm, but nothing about it will ever be fun or easier.
Stay safe.
XOXOXO,
Brenda
“Uncertainty is my enemy. Preparedness is my talisman.”
I totally agree with what you said and would add that knowledge is POWER!
Battening down the hatches here, too. We left our beach house yesterday hoping it will stay intact. We had no choice abut leaving….
L,J
I understand, and I feel just as you do. I am, and always have been, a planner and an organizer. I’ve always had all those labeled file folders you mention, and I’ve always done things like keep my house in a Zen-like order so I’d have an oasis of beauty and calm in the midst of life’s daily chaos. At the same time, I have always been kind of crazy-brave: I love spontaneity and the unknown, but I realize now that I loved—and still love it—with a base of order and certainty to return to. For a few years I’ve not had that; my life has been filled with uncertainty that I can’t control, and it has been—it is—the most challenging time I’ve ever encountered. There is a Zen lesson about impermanence: that life is change, and if we expect things will stay the same, we will be disappointed. I *hate* that Zen lesson, but I am learning it. You have done a wonderful job of being prepared; that is all you can do. I, and I know many, many other people here, are gathering you up in our hearts and minds and imagining you safe, wishing you well; your house and yard untouched. As wise Ann said here, now all you can do is wait it out. Sending love and support from California.
Lisa and Katherine, I see myself in both of your entries. I also find it much easier to face challenges, when I have a concrete sense of what to expect. And I do, at times, find myself leaping (and sometimes running full tilt) into the unknown, but more often than not when I feel I have a solid foundation beneath me. I always tell my mom her love and support makes it possible for me to fly. Thinking of you both and holding you close in my thoughts and heart. Hugs and love. Always. xoxo