The Polar Vortex has me thinking about a few things: my love for boots; thankfulness for not being homeless, for having heat, hot water, a warm bed; how I might need to move further south when I’m old; the Bahamas; and how volatile “normal” is. I just read an article in Slate Magazine about why we’re having this freaky weather situation. They tried to explain it, but the best quote was this:
“Bottom line: Something weird is going on,
but scientists are still trying to nail down exactly what it is.”
I like the honesty.
It’s because of warming global temps, melting sea ice, human behavior, because the jet stream is being lazy. But we don’t know exactly how all that put together equals snow in Birmingham and shorts weather near Anchorage. It’s a mystery, as is everything, really. Which I love.
The fact that I can’t count on “typical” to always be true can be scary, can rather suck at times, but also means life is exciting. I know that we as humans have played a part in our current climate malfunction, but it’s reminding me that life is full of such surprises. Being born, burning yourself on a hot stove, falling in love, having a baby, finding out that Santa isn’t real, watching popcorn pop for the first time, puberty, cancer, how much it hurts when someone dies, the end of a good mystery novel, failure, success, Pop Rocks. It’s full of the unexpected. Sometimes happy and sometimes sad, but I’m glad to not know the whole story now.
I do tend toward planning. I like to know what’s coming next, to be prepared (at least mentally), to feel as if things are under control. But when am I going to learn that life doesn’t work that way? There’s nothing wrong with doing homework on time, planning for a trip, making wise financial choices to avoid debt, but there’s gotta be room for the unknown. I really don’t want to know everything that will be. Bo-ring. And just not the way it’s meant to be, so I’d better get on board with what is.
Resistance is futile.
So bring it, Polar Vortex! I can handle you (with my heat and hot water and cozy boots). I may plan a trip to a tropical location to recover, but I’ll try to remember that surprises are ok, even cold ones.
And I’ll bank on shorts weather returning to the lower 48 someday, when things have returned to normal.