Things are slowly getting back to normal for me, a week on from the US election. New Zealand, however, is still dealing with this week’s earthquakes, and now it’s been hit with a lot of bad weather. Just what the people most affected by those earthquakes needed—something else to cope with. Life sure can be very different based on time, place, and so much more.
We humans have a need to try and restore normality as soon as we can, though sometimes it takes longer than other times, depending on any number of things. The folks dealing with the earthquakes will need help and support for quite some time, but, as is the nature of things, the rest of us get on with our daily lives.
For me, it’s all about projects around the house. The photo above was about the most obvious result of all the wind and rain we’ve had over the past week. One week ago today, I swept up all the leaves and other debris on our deck, but it now needs it again.
Last week, I hadn’t noticed the weeds climbing in the trees, probably because it wasn’t in bloom at the time. This week, the weeds have made their presence known: All that yellowy stuff behind me is made up mostly of blooms that have fallen of the vines.
In the caption to the photo on Instagram, I joked, “This is my grumpy face – well an attempt at one.” And that, as much as anything, is an indication of where I’m at these days: I can’t even fake a grumpy face. I could, however, use my selfie-stick to take the photo; it’s something I never think of using to get a better perspective/composition of this sort of photo. Maybe remembering it is another sign of returning normality.
The truth is, I hadn’t realised how stressful the election had been for me, before, during, and after. I realised it only when things got better. But, of course, I can get on my life far removed from the realities of life in Don’s America. A bit like being removed from life in the earthquake area, a pretty apt comparison, actually.
So, today was an ordinary day for me, filled with some chores, some errands, and the realisation of more chores to come. This is what life was like for many of the folks in the earthquake area last week, and what they expected this week. But the fact that things can change so quickly is one of the reasons why I like to document ordinary, everyday life like I had today: One never knows when it will all change.
Life really can be very different based on time, place, and so much more, even when it’s in the same country. Sometimes (like over the past week for me), we’re reminded to acknowledge that the ordinary can be very good, indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment