Help Me Not Be Afraid to Get Back on That Horse, or Wise and Hopeful Words from the Weather Man

My horseback experience is limited to riding the ponies at the zoo or at the county fair of my childhood and maybe a time or two of trail riding somewhere.  I’m a little timid when it comes to animals that are taller than I am.  Nevertheless, I’ve been around long enough to have heard it said that if you fall off or get tossed off an equine back, the best means for conquering the fear of a repeat episode is to get right back in the saddle. 

(I hope I’m not turning a corner here, now, so fast as to give you mental whiplash… hang on…)  I’ve noticed something on the weather reports in the past week.  Whenever there has been a threat of “freezing rain” or a “wintry mix” in the prediction, the weather guy has been quick to say that there is no threat to limbs or power lines in this weather event–just the possibility of travel hazards.  Odd as it may sound, those are soothing words to a city that is still recovering from a pretty heavy-duty ice storm that left tornado-like tree damage and days-long power outages the week before Christmas.  Kindly so, the weather man anticipated our fears in light of our recent past experience, and did something to ease them. 

When I heard those words–“no damage to trees or power lines anticipated”–in today’s winter weather advisory, it did calm me…and set me thinking.  I thought about the “get back on the horse” theory.  I also thought about people who have had other negative experiences and are now paralyzed by fear of further hurt or damage to the point where they are unable to move beyond their past experiences.  What if someone is too afraid to get past a bad experience–in relationships, in a new endeavor, in the church? 

Sometimes–I would venture to guess in nearly all but the most traumatic experiences–maybe all it takes is a little hand holding or a few soothing words.  That requires someone who is in the know–of the situation and of the person–to anticipate fears in light of past experiences and to offer the supportive hand or the calming words. 

It only took the weather man a few extra seconds.  It may require a little more investment on my part to be the hand holder or the soothing word speaker, but…

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Tapioca Weather

There is a saying in Indiana:  “If you don’t like the weather, just wait for (an hour or two) (a day or two).”  (I think that’s it; I think, too, that it has probably been the saying as well in other states I’ve lived in–Michigan and Arkansas.)

We have had everything in these late weeks of winter:  rain, floods, bitter cold, snow, sleet, wind, sunshine, fog.  You name it, we’ve seen it. (Thankfully no tornadoes this year yet in our county; Indiana saw some last winter northwest of here.)

Today, we have had a “light wintry mix”, according to the Weather Channel website.  Whatever it is called meteorologically (Is that a word?), I like my friend Rose Ann’s description better.

She said she was out driving this afternoon, when the falling precipitation sounded–and looked–like someone pelting the earth with miniature ice melter crystals.  She called it that “tapioca stuff”.  (If you haven’t seen pearl tapioca, look it up on the grocery shelf in the vicinity of the puddings.)  I had thought the same thing earlier, but hadn’t said it to anyone.

I wonder if this tapioca weather will mean a two-hour school delay in the morning?

Drive safely, Friends. 

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While I Was Sleeping: Driveway Basketball

                 

Frosty v. Jack Frost
Who made that shot?
“Two points!”
All the wooly-hooded spectators silently watch.

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