Lemonade

    I guess I never really understood that saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

    It actually seemed like a pretty negative saying to me. I like lemons. Just the smell of lemons makes me smile.

    Okay, so I digress again.

    Now I get it. Some of the most bitter and irritable people I know have taught me all about this saying.

     I am not Miss Positivity by any means. I actually spend far too much time trying to weigh out the probability of things that will go wrong. I know that about myself.

    However, when it comes right down to it, I tend to work with what I have rather than being so burdened by what I do not have.

    For example: I live in Oklahoma. If you do not live in Oklahoma, you may not realize the intense gravity of that statement.

     Let me explain myself better.

     Oklahoma is rather perplexing. We have bitter cold windy winters with ice storms that do tremendous damage...a brief tornado and hail filled spring, followed by blazing hot summers. In the fall, we generally get to add torrential rain and floods to the mix. It is not easy street here.

     We are accustomed to helping each other out of our driveways in the winter and cleaning up each others yards and homes after springs storms.

      I say Oklahoma is perplexing because the difference in "natives" and "new people" is astounding.

      My children attended a school with a pretty large percentage of military kids. These were military families that moved frequently and every spring, the first NOAA storm warning would bring out the difference.

      The families inevitably will cluster in the halls and/or the parking lot asking questions: How far away is it? How soon will it get here? Do I have time to? Should we go for shelter now?

      You can see the sense of urgency. They want to hurry up and get prepared, get it over with and move on. They want to know if it will be attacking their house.

      I have always stopped. Explained the location of the cities mentioned in the warning and the direction of the storm.

      Again, inevitably, they load their children quickly and race away with their new plans.

      Natives, or those of us who have lived here for several years, don't generally do this.

      Why?

       Yes, there are the jokes about the Okies standing outside watching the tornadoes, and yes, often, we do go outside to get a sense of things, however, when the storms are really close, or even in our city, we do not play around. We get to our shelter area with order. There is no rushing or mad scramble.

      Generally, we have known for hours that the storm is on its way.

      The people of Oklahoma have a pretty good reputation for being easy going, laid back and willing to help.

     Guess what, the people of Oklahoma are always in training for this.

     The best and worst example of this was the May 1999 tornadoes.

     That series of tornadoes was so devastating, so monumental, and yet, the morning after was similar to the morning after many other storms.

     I was 5 months into a high risk pregnancy when that storm hit, so I could not do much to help, but I will say that as soon as the sun came up, my husband along with everyone else I knew, got up, put on work boots, jeans and grabbed gloves.

     They each left their homes to go help those who either no longer had a home, or those who had wreckage and debris all over their homes.

     I stayed home and started to cook food from our freezer. This was a bad storm and we had no idea how long we would not have power.

     I found out later that night that I wasn't the only one who did this. Many neighborhoods had large cookouts to use up foods in the freezers and to feed those who were working. We had many guests for dinner and many who came to use our showers.

     We have done the same for ice storms. We are very fortunate that although our home was not destroyed by those tornadoes, we benefited from the underground power lines that were installed after that storm. We have not yet lost power, so many times, we have had overnight guests who needed a warm place to be during the power outages.

    It is what we do. Most of us do not do this for recognition, we do it because of the Golden Rule. Someday that might be us looking for warmth, food, a shower or a helping hand with tornado debris.

     Like I said, Oklahoma gets a lot of training and practice. We get regular reminders to follow that Golden Rule. There are always plenty of opportunities to make a phone call and offer help.

     Now, as for those who get cranky every time it rains, or complain when things weren't the way they planned.... I don't know what will help them. There are a few of those living here in Oklahoma too. They seem to be impervious to the light and beauty of humanity.

     Now, the reason I am writing this.

     There has been no tornado, ice storm or power outage, yet I am at home. I cannot leave. Okay, I feel that way a bit and it is funny. I could call a friend, call a cab, whatever...

     I have two flat tires and the business I trust with my car is closed for the holiday.

     I have everything I need. I intended to stay home today anyway to get a few things done.

    Somehow just knowing that I cannot go anywhere has created a list in my head of all of the things I would like to get at the stores, or visit downtown... I laugh when I catch myself doing it. Ooooh, I should go get more fruit for this week, or dog food, or I forgot there is an art exhibit this weekend, that would be fun to go to...

      I laugh because it shows me that I have exactly the same expectations/wants/desires...and that not being able to just drive away is indeed an inconvenience.

     It is just that. An inconvenience. I know it will not last forever. I know that this will be repaired tomorrow. I know that I could use a different business today. I could borrow a "donut" from a neighbor and troll around on two spares... (INSANE) or I could call a cab or rent a car.

     It is just an inconvenience. It is just for today. I have plenty of laundry to catch up on and I really needed to finish a gift for a friend today. Those were the reasons I wanted to stay home.

     Thankfully, not only do I have everything I need, but I do know someone that I entrust with my car repairs. My car travels on the highway with my children so I am pretty particular who I allow to work on it. Thankfully, I had already planned on staying home today. Thankfully, nobody needs me today. I could go on and on and on.

    Each day, we have a choice. We can look at the blessings, gifts and choices we do have, or we can focus on all of those things that we do not have.

         There are cranky bitter people who do indeed seem to be impervious to the joy and good. To those people, I would say, why don't you follow me around for a few months? I have a few challenges to deal with that you might need to help with. Or maybe they should go volunteer to help at the shelter or crisis center. Getting out of your own misery and helping someone find comfort or food tends to help most get through the bitter cranky stage of life.  If you are that cranky, go do something for someone else. Read to a lonely person in a nursing home. Do SOMETHING. There is something to be said for just getting up and doing something for someone else.

     I don't know what my saying would be but it still would not be about lemonade, because honestly, if I had a couple of bags of lemons right now, I would make a lovely pina colada lemonade recipe that I have been just dying to try. I have my bad days, my mopey days, but I cannot imagine a day when a bag of lemons would not cheer me.

    See my point? I need a new cliche. I love lemons way too much!