Even when facing a strong storm
One summer years ago, our 10-year old nephew, Matt, spent the summer with us. He was all boy and stronger than most. When he arrived, I had a set of rules that I gradually told him.
I had a lot of rules about our dog, Sara. First, she was not allowed on any furniture or his bed. Second, he could walk her to our mailbox, which was a block away, but he couldn’t thread her leash through the handlebars of his bike and ride anywhere. And third, no feeding her people food.
Of course, he did all three. He was strong willed and if he wanted to do something, he found a way to do it. I should have told him that he could do those things and he probably never would have done them.
While my husband and I were working, Matt went to summer camp at the YMCA. His days were full of camp activities and he made friends his own age. I would take him and pick him up each day. The 30-minute drive was filled with talking, singing and running an occasional errand.
Strong hurricane approaching
One day, I picked him up early because there was an approaching hurricane, something this little Colorado boy knew nothing about. Of course, we’d known for days that it was coming, had talked about it and was able to get our plan together. The day before the storm was to hit, my husband was busy making preparation for the bank he managed, while Matt and I gathered supplies for home.
We needed to stop at the local grocery store. The store was putting plywood over their windows and once we got inside, the atmosphere was ominous. Everyone was talking about the storm and buying up everything they could. We made our small purchase and quickly left.
When we got into the car, the disc jockey on the radio was sensationalizing the storm. I’d heard the same conversation over and over again for every storm prior to this one. What I didn’t think about was that Matt hadn’t. He burst into tears for the first time since he arrived at our house. This tough little guy was scared to death and it never even occurred to me that he had never rode out a hurricane or tropical storm for that matter. I had a lot of explaining to do.
Sometimes those who act the toughest are the ones that really aren’t. Don’t look to others for strength because you already have it. You are stronger than you think!
