It has been a wild and crazy adventure for people living in Oklahoma. I’m one of those. Last Friday an ice storm hit, paralzying thousands of homes, trees, cars under one to three inches of ice.

It looked like a computer-generated iceland that might be featured in the next sci-fi movie.

We didn’t have electricity or heat or light. I live outside the city so at night it was so dark that you couldn’t see anything for miles.

The first day it seemed fun. Perhaps an adventure. But soon our trees started breaking from the top down. Branches toppled, the sound huge, as they cracked under the weight of the ice and then toppled down through branches to hit the ground, or roof, or porch.

The house was warm the first day, cold the second, freezing the third. By day five, fun wasn’t a word that I wanted to use about our adventure. I wanted a hot bath. I wanted a meal cooked from the oven instead of the fireplace. I wanted skin that didn’t feel red and chapped and tight.

But I was in better shape than many. We had a fireplace, so there was a small area to find warmth. We had water. We are strong and able to cut firewood, beat off the ice, and carry it in.

This gave me a glimpse into the past. I hear people say all the time that we are so busy, that we have so much to do. I don’t think that’s true. I think we fill our time, but in the past men and women and teens and children had basic survival to fill their time. They needed warmth, so they cut wood. And they cut it again and again. They hauled water. They took baths with precious water carried in and heated. They prepared food over hot coals, and instead of reaching for a microwave meal or something good from the fridge, they had to find food or grow food.

This week has given me an appreciation for those who came before me, and you. It’s also helped me to be grateful for the small things that bring so much comfort.

Suzie

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