Sandy

Hello - I took a few months off as I transitioned and have been holding off blogging because I'm trying to convert to a new site, but Sandy has inspired me to write.

The number of times I've heard news people talk about what a strange weather pattern this is without mentioning Climate Change makes me scared.  It mirrors the silence around Climate Change in this election.   That silence, compared with scientific evidence proclaiming loud and clear that these kinds of storms are growing more frequent and have human causes, makes me want to rewrite Obama's debate quip: "The 80's called and they want their environmental policy back."

For wise commentary on Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change, read Climate hero Bill Mckibben's article on the Daily Beast:.

On a personal side of Hurricane Sandy.  We in the DC area were relatively unscathed.  I didn't even lose power which meant that, though of course I was concerned by the devastation experienced by others, in my world, Sandy was a relief.  I got to rest.

I haven't left the house for 36 hours except to take my dog Addie out.  Yesterday, I did very little.  This is rare for me. Normally on a Monday I would be torn between resting and packing in the activity (errands, cleaning, running) in order to prepare for the week ahead.  That conflict means that my day of rest isn't actually restful at all.  I expect no sympathy from anyone reading this; you don't rest often or well either.  A full day of nothingness is rare and blessed and I enjoyed it.

Even as I write that, I feel selfish.  I know people have suffered from this hurricane.  I know that people on the front lines don't get a day off to rest because they are out in horrible weather keeping the rest of us safe and powered up.  I know that there are people missing from the HMS Bounty and flooding throughout our cities.  I also know that a day off is a luxury.  For people who depend on a day's work to bring home money essential to keeping the rent paid, a day off without work isn't relaxing, it's terrifying.  For kids who depend on school lunches to keep them fed, a day off just means a day of hunger. 

But for me, it came as a blessing.  So the question before me is this: "How to enjoy a blessed day of rest without the gnawing guilt of knowing that others are suffering." 

Thoughts?