The recent snowstorm that hit Kansas City was great for pictures but not so great on the 50,000+ people who lost electrical power (myself among them). The snowstorm pelted the midwest with some of the highest tallies in recent years. My hometown of Kansas City was hit with between 4 to 10 inches depending on the part of town. It wasn’t the dry stuff either, but a wet clumpy slush that was great for snowmen but havoc on trees. Much of the power outages were a direct result from falling limbs. The powerline that runs to our house was snapped in two and we were without electricity or heat for four days.
In the 11 months since I started this blog, this is the longest I had gone without posting. I really felt like I had severed a lifeline. I spent the last four nights in motels and friends homes worried about our pets at home. (We visited during the daytime to feed them and clean up and made sure they had blankets, but it never felt enough. They always seemed confused as to why we were no longer around. I love traveling and I know that being away from home can make you feel rootless sometimes but this felt different. Maybe because whenever I am on the road somewhere I am reassured in knowing I have a home to return to, and for a while, I didn’t. I felt lost in a city where I grew up.
My problems though reek of privilege. I am blessed to have a home that I eventually returned to, many do not. Normality tends to overarch detail. But once you are separated from the essential you see every little thing. I missed my bed, my computer, the way my dog Jinxie sleeps (and snores) under the covers while I am writing my blog. The smell of Frank cooking his delicious Italian dinners or the melodious sound of Janie singing to herself while she is working around the house. A hundred working parts that make my home special to me. I missed all of it. I am grateful to be aware of the details. I also know the loss I felt for a short period is felt by thousands who don’t have a home to go to. I don’t want to lose this mindfulness as I endeavor to find a way to help those who have experienced the same.
Thank you so much for sticking around these past few days despite the blog’s “Blackout”. I am back with a new sense of appreciation for all I have.
Great fotos, really love ‘em.
Thanks Jerry. They helped me take my mind off things
Lovely photos Globetrotting Grandpa but just for a second there I thought those polar bears were just wandering around in Kansas! but then I clicked my ruby slippers and said ‘no place like home’ and realized that they were just in the zoo : )
It’s been cold enough they might have been comfortable here. 🙂
Yes. I imagine the penguins at Kansas City Zoo are also enjoying the weather. : )
They’ll like the forecast this weekend even better, more cold and more snow,
KC is my home also and I agree that it was a beautiful snow – one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. But, oh my, the damage! Spring clean-up will be difficult.
Great pictures. Hope all has returned to “normal.” Reminds me how much I don’t miss winter…always lovely to look at but I can do that from afar.
Well a lot of the snow has melted, but the downed trees are still a problem. KC won’t be short of firewood any time soon.