Things are Just Not "Normal" Around Here.
I hate using the word "normal" in writing, speaking, or other forms of communication. I don't think that word does a good job of expressing anything. Having said that, I am using it today because it seems to describe my life situation pretty well at the moment.
Monday was the solar eclipse. Not a usual happening in my life, but one that was special. It interrupted some of what we did at work, but that was about it. We didn't have any issues with glasses or an uptick in behavior concerns at work. The sun came out for most of the eclipse, and then it clouded over. The thunderstorms started about 6pm that evening.
Apparently, it rained hard and heavy all night Monday and all morning on Tuesday, because when I drove to work, I noticed that all of the tributaries and creeks were full. I made it to work okay, but I apparently was lucky and missed the cresting water because many of my co-workers had significant difficulties getting to work due to flooding over many of the roads. I was unable to get home via my usual route because of flooding.
This field was full of soybeans on Monday. On Tuesday, the river next to it overflowed and covered this entire field as far as I could see. Those crops are washed away and will not be viable this season. Fortunately, the fields did what needed to be done, they took the overflow the way they needed to.
We canceled all off-campus events including medical appointments and Community-Based Instruction because we had people who could not make it out of their homes to support our students. We had no way of knowing where the water would crest and cover the roads. We had no way of predicting whether folks would be safe on the roads, so our routine was changed.
We'll see what happens today. The road crews and power company crews have been working hard to get things put back to a semblance of "normal" for us all. Farmers will have the longest wait - waiting for the water to go down and be less of a problem before preparing fields for next year's crops.
Everyone around here has been affected by this. Some of us have had to change our routes to work. Some of us have watched our cash for the year be washed away. Some of us have had major water damage to our homes or work places.
My clients, while not directly affected by the water, experience the effect of flooding. Their routines are shifted due to staff members who are absent and changes to transportation. They are experiencing secondary emotions from the staff members who are worried about basements filling up with water and whether their family members can get home from where they are. Some of my students were unable to arrive at school because buses could not drive on flooded highways. Every thing was different. Nothing was routine or "normal."
I strive to keep music therapy as "normal" as possible. It is sometimes difficult to focus on what we are supposed to do when our emotions are getting bigger, but dealing with emotions is something that we do in music therapy as part of our "normal," so we deal with what happens as it comes. Yesterday, we learned about instrument families and spent some time listening to Santana's guitar grooves. The flood didn't even come up. After 24 hours, I expect that more of my clients will make comments about the situation, but we'll see.
I am getting ready to go out into the waterworld that is currently present. We'll see if I can drive over my regular roads or if I'll be detoured to another route.
We are going to be on the lookout for "normality," but it may not arrive. It may be time to change to a new "normal." We'll see.
Happy Wednesday.
Monday was the solar eclipse. Not a usual happening in my life, but one that was special. It interrupted some of what we did at work, but that was about it. We didn't have any issues with glasses or an uptick in behavior concerns at work. The sun came out for most of the eclipse, and then it clouded over. The thunderstorms started about 6pm that evening.
Apparently, it rained hard and heavy all night Monday and all morning on Tuesday, because when I drove to work, I noticed that all of the tributaries and creeks were full. I made it to work okay, but I apparently was lucky and missed the cresting water because many of my co-workers had significant difficulties getting to work due to flooding over many of the roads. I was unable to get home via my usual route because of flooding.
This field was full of soybeans on Monday. On Tuesday, the river next to it overflowed and covered this entire field as far as I could see. Those crops are washed away and will not be viable this season. Fortunately, the fields did what needed to be done, they took the overflow the way they needed to.
We canceled all off-campus events including medical appointments and Community-Based Instruction because we had people who could not make it out of their homes to support our students. We had no way of knowing where the water would crest and cover the roads. We had no way of predicting whether folks would be safe on the roads, so our routine was changed.We'll see what happens today. The road crews and power company crews have been working hard to get things put back to a semblance of "normal" for us all. Farmers will have the longest wait - waiting for the water to go down and be less of a problem before preparing fields for next year's crops.
Everyone around here has been affected by this. Some of us have had to change our routes to work. Some of us have watched our cash for the year be washed away. Some of us have had major water damage to our homes or work places.
My clients, while not directly affected by the water, experience the effect of flooding. Their routines are shifted due to staff members who are absent and changes to transportation. They are experiencing secondary emotions from the staff members who are worried about basements filling up with water and whether their family members can get home from where they are. Some of my students were unable to arrive at school because buses could not drive on flooded highways. Every thing was different. Nothing was routine or "normal."
I strive to keep music therapy as "normal" as possible. It is sometimes difficult to focus on what we are supposed to do when our emotions are getting bigger, but dealing with emotions is something that we do in music therapy as part of our "normal," so we deal with what happens as it comes. Yesterday, we learned about instrument families and spent some time listening to Santana's guitar grooves. The flood didn't even come up. After 24 hours, I expect that more of my clients will make comments about the situation, but we'll see.
I am getting ready to go out into the waterworld that is currently present. We'll see if I can drive over my regular roads or if I'll be detoured to another route.
We are going to be on the lookout for "normality," but it may not arrive. It may be time to change to a new "normal." We'll see.
Happy Wednesday.
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