A super blizzard struck Ohio last Friday through Saturday leaving 20.4 inches of snow, 1,914 crashes, and two deaths. Ninety percent of flights were cancelled, most business were closed and many events (including Church services) were cancelled. People were adviced to stay in their homes.

     The last time central Ohio saw this magnitude of   snow for a single storm was 98 years ago and that was only 15.3 inches!

     The blizzard started Friday noon as we were leaving for my biometrics appointment. On our way home, it started to pick up.

      This was how our front yard looked when we got home. 

This was how it looked the following morning. 

Here is a shot from another angle on Friday afternoon. 

This was how it looked the following morning.

      It was a sight to behold! David said the last time he saw this much snow in Columbas was in 1987, ands that was only 12.2 inches.

     When the winter storm warning was issued on Thursday, we went on a "just in case we get stuck for a few days" trip to the grocery store. By the time the blizzard struck, we were observing it  in the comfort of our home. 

     I prepared a lovely lunch, we watched a movie on TV and spent a peaceful afternoon together while a strong wind, coupled with heavy snow, was wrecking havoc outside .

   By early evening (on Saturday), it was over. Our driveway was covered by over 12 inches of snow. David was worried that we might not be able to get out in case of an emergency so we decided he decided to shovel the snow from our driveway right after dinner. I told him it was cold outside, but he did not want to wait because the task would be more difficult when the snow hardens. 

     He invited me to come outside so I would experience my first blizzard. I grabbed the camera and  took a picture of him shoveling. I tried my hand on the shovel but it was  heavy so I went back inside the house to stay away from the cold. I felt uncomfortable and a little guilty leaving my hardworking husband to do the job alone. We have a long driveway and it was a strenous job. I went out to see if there was something I could do. I found our dustpan and used it to help him out. We worked for over a hour but we got our driveway cleared. 

 

Just for fun, I took a stick and wrote "Gildavid" on the snow.

     Our "Blizzard of 2008" experience taught me a life lesson. Blizzards are part of nature's expression of life. Like nature, blizzards are also part of our lives. These are often called  "crisis", "problems", "difficulties" and (for the proactive ones) "challenges".

     The common reaction to a crisis is panic, confrontation, escape, withdrawal, confusion or helplessness. Neither of these are affective ways of dealing with the predicament.

     From our recent blizzard experience, I realized that a crisis can be handled in a more graceful manner.

     Just as we prepared for the blizzard by going to the grocery store the moment we were aware that one was coming, I figured that we too can prepare for a crisis the moment we realize that one is heading our way. This can be done by regularly strengthening our "problem solving muscles" by doing "self work"  and "self empowerment" exercises so that our unfinished business will not cloud our judgments when we are in the middle of a crisis. Developing a healthy spiritual life is another  great way of doing this because it enables us to tap a Power higher than ourselves for assistance.

     Just as we calmly enjoyed a wonderful lunch and a relaxing afternoon while a storm was brewing outside, we can also create a calm and peaceful place within ourselves where we can seek refuge and find balance, and seek guidance during difficult times. When we are able to access this place, we will be able to go to the next stage with some degree of clarity.  

     Lastly, just as we went out and did the hard work of clearing the driveway after the blizzard, we also need to be willing to do whatever intelligent work is required, even is it is difficult, to bring about the best  resolution to the situation we are in.

    When this is done, we will we find ourselves standing on a clear driveway, ready to move on.

     True, blizzards are scary, but since they are a natural part of life, we cannot avoid them. We can only prepare for them so that, when they do come (knock on wood ), we can handle them gracefully and still manage to have fun .

     Oh, and one more thing about blizzards, they are temporary.        

      More pictures at this site:  http://gildavid168.blogs.friendster.com/gildavid_bulletin/

I heard about the latest happenings over there in the news. I am so happy that we are having a spring like weather over at the neck of our woods :) Stay warm ate G...

sus G, ana gyud itsura sa amo dire last week, i wasnt able to go to work Wednesday then on friday night, it started again to snow, mas makapal nogn saturday so larry has to shovel the long driveway, in fact ngaun lang nakapasok ang sasakyan dito sa driway namin, iniwan namin sa may labasan so we had to walk palabas every morning, para kaming naglalakad sa pilapilan, winter is almost over pero bakit ganito pa rin weather? BTW, TY pala sa pag stop by! TC and enjoy ur weekend with FK!

Children are discounted by adults in society. This is nothing new, for adults have always minimized the wisdom of children::::The gods corrupt people as they age, use trust-building tactics and soon adults view the children as ignorant, yet to understand the god's system, and subsequently look down on the children. This is one of the most bitter, painful ironies the gods employ::::
Religions teach that old people to go to heaven when they die. They don't. Old people are reincarnated. It's children who go to heaven.
The wisdom the gods impart to children, either through their innocence/purity or religious-based educational pursuits, are the gods sharing the truth with their most favored people::::It's the children whom the gods teach the right way for it is the children who have a chance. For example, they teach children to have faith, for understanding the god's geographical clues hurts people by illustrating negative things, opening the door for the god's to employ deceptive tactics.
Old people don't go to heaven. Old people must come back because of the mistakes they've made throughout their lives. It's the children who have the opportunity to go to "heaven". They must behave apprioriately, think correctly and be genuinely god-fearing. Their innocence and lack of desensitization ensures they have a real opportunity to achieve this goal.