Winds of Change

The wind is blowing powerfully here today. We're experiencing gusts up to 35 mph. We started taking down our tree yesterday and, last night, Don put it out on the side of the street for the garbage folks to remove. This afternoon, as I was coming home after taking Deanna to a doctor's appointment and back to school, I couldn't get in our driveway because the tree had blown across it right where the driveway met the street. I had to put the van in park in the middle of the road, jump out, and drag the tree back over the curb before I could pull into my own driveway.

Later, I was sitting in the living room, which faces the street, talking on the phone to Don. I heard police sirens that seemed to stop in front of my house. I peeked out the lace curtains and a motorcyle policeman had left his bike in the middle of the road with the lights flashing and was, once again, pulling my tree out of the street.

There's nothing to be done about it. I could try and put it in the backyard until the wind dies down, but, even then, it could just as easily blow into the front yard and the street. I decided I needed to check more often to try and keep it out of the street so as not to endanger traffic, which speeds down the road in front of my house.

This afternoon, I was wrapping ornaments for packing and heard a clanging sound, like a garbage can being knocked around or something metallic. I checked out the window. My tree had managed to stay put and was still on the curb, but below my driveway, in my neighbor's yard (very near mine), was a speed limit sign that had, apparently, blown over and blown up the street. The speed limit in our driveways is now 30 mph.

On another note, I've made some decisions about doing things a little differently with regard to chores. I'm putting a schedule together for each child, including daily responsibilities as well as specific things that they each need to accomplish on different afternoons during the week. Their allowance will be tied to their completion of these chores without having to be constantly reminded.

So, the winds are blowing hard outside and just as hard inside. I'm hoping that they'll blow out all the old mindsets and laziness and succeed in blowing in a new understanding of responsibility.

Blow, wind, blow!!