The storm before the calm before the storm.

I know everybody always talks about the calm before the storm, but I've always have great affection for the calm during a storm. Now obviously, if you're outside in that storm, things are not so calm. But if you're inside and comfortable, as I am with a fire going and a dog sleeping nearby, It's pretty darned comfortable. And pretty darned calm.

I think my most extreme examples of storm seeking our first when we flew to Martha's Vineyard, knowing there was going to be a hurricane the following day, just to experience a hurricane on Martha's Vineyard. It was extremely noisy, but it was kind of cozy and kind of fun. The other was when we drove into the last big blizzard in Philadelphia, leaving from Connecticut just as it was starting to snow, know that thing that they were going to be 2+ feet of snow on the ground by the time we got to Philadelphia.

I remember almost getting stuck at the blue route interchange with the Expressway, which would have been pretty frustrating because we already been driving for 150 miles in three hours. We had fought our way over there and then a couple of cars right in front of us got stuck on the ramp. We sat in traffic there for about 10 minutes trying to figure out what to do, and then, miraculously, a snowplow came by and things cleared right out. I also remember coming as fast as I could down our road and just plowing our car as far as I could get it into our driveway. 

What makes this storm particularly strange, at least as far as the timing is concerned, is that I'm leaving for New York on Tuesday morning, in preparation for Ronnie having open heart surgery. My original intent was to get everything prepared for my absence on Monday, but then it occurred to me that there might not be school on Monday, so I scrambled to try to get everything done on Friday, and for the most part succeeded.

So now I'm in a storm, but also in the calm before the storm that will take place during the surgery and its aftermath. I have no experience with this particular type of thing. Ronnie and I have, for the most part, been pretty healthy over the years. I had shingles a few years back, and once, a long time ago, we both had pneumonia at the same time. But aside from that, nothing worse then the flu has really hit us in that 25 years or so we've lived here. It doesn't feel really scary but it doesn't feel completely safe either. Uncertainty is no fun.

But off we'll go to New York on Tuesday morning. A new adventure. I'll keep you posted.