It's been cloudy all morning, and the rain *just* started to come down. Heather, my sister, who has been living with us all summer and who is going back to Utah tomorrow for her last year of undergrad (if the storm doesn't stop her flight), said 'Well, this is the beginning of the end.' She's hilarious.
My friends are all renting cars and going inland for the weekend. Between this hurricane on its way and the earthquake earlier this week - it's been a weird couple of days. There's a really weird vibe on the streets here.
I met up with some local blogger friends for dinner last night. We all talked about blogging and work and what's new in our busy lives. Then we talked about how scary the earthquake was, because who ever expects there to be an earthquake in New York City? I've never been in one before, so admittedly, my reaction was probably stronger than necessary (especially for you earthquake pros in California). But guys, the books on my bookshelves five feet from my desk were falling down. That's scary stuff in the moment.
And now the rain has come. It's pouring. One of my vintage furniture dealers upstate is emailing me to say that I need to come pick up a bench I bought right away because his store will probably flood. My neighbor is telling me to go to the Duane Reade if I need toilet paper and milk, because CVS is already pretty cleaned out. I can hear at least two ambulances. And I look down at my desk to see the Emergency Evacuation Strategy packet my building manager left at my door last night.
I have been so stressed about work lately - should I do this, and/or should I do that? Is this a worthwhile opportunity? How will this effect my family responsibilities? How will this translate on my blog? How can I pass that up?
Last night at that dinner, Abbey and I were talking about how during the earthquake we were both just thinking about our babies. It was such a heavy feeling. The responsibility of other lives - those little bodies that mean absolutely everything to me. I think we all had a shake up moment where perspective changed a little. Things that have consumed my thoughts lately suddenly couldn't have mattered less.
I'm going to call it a weekend. We'll hole up and make some yummy food, watch a couple movies, maybe paint a side table I picked up last Saturday... Hopefully, Monday I'll be back with a fresh attitude and some sunshine. I'm praying that the storm on Sunday is gentle for all of us.
xoxo
