Awkward Situations: Mother Nature's Life Lessons in Class and Futility

Ah, raking leaves. Everyone's favorite pastime...or maybe not. Sure for some, it's great for the kids, but in the end, it's still work that needs to be done. To me, raking leaves is like dusting, it's a necessary, but futile attempt to keep your life in order, or make it appear to be. And the keep your neighbors from hating you and the city and Homeowners Association from fining you.

I was home for the holidays and when I arrived I saw our yard was in desperate need of raking. After the big ice storm had hit and gone away and the ground had dried up, I saw that all the leaves from the tree in our yard had fallen, and thought, now would be a good time to rake. So I watched Nebraska win their bowl game, go big red, and spent the rest of the day raking leaves. There were a lot. I even had to send my brother to the store to get more bags because we ran out. 

Several hours, a sore back, blistered palms, and about 13 full bags later, the work was done. There were a few places here and there I figured I'd get the next day, but looking upon my work, I thought, well done. Your life is back in order.

Then came the north wind. 

That evening a cold front moved through and when I woke in the morning to finish here and there, I saw this:

It's as if I hadn't even bothered raking. A pile of leaves awaited me. A pile that laughed in my face. But where had they come from? All the leaves from our trees and our neighbor's trees were gone.

Then I looked catty corner and saw the culprit. Those neighbors. Still plenty of leaves on their trees and plenty more to go. They are on the north side, so when that north wind blows, they blow right into our yard and our neighbor's. As if on cue, the cold, 12°F wind rustled through the trees and I watched some of those leaves flutter over and landed gently in our yard. One even had the audacity to land on my foot. I swore. I won't tell you exactly what I said because it was unbecoming of a southern lady. 

If you take a closer look at the picture above you'll notice the culprit's yard is leaf free. Next door, they aren't so lucky. The neighbors across the street weren't so lucky, and neither were we. 

My first thought was, they should have to clean it up! But quickly I realized that Kathleen, that's crazy. It's not their fault really. They can't make the trees lose their leaves, and they don't control the wind. They are just lucky to be situated where they are.

Then that got me thinking. It kind of felt like a life lesson in general, especially after living overseas for the last several years and following the embarrassingly ridiculousness of American politics and especially some of  the backwardness coming from Texas. Come one Texas, you're better than 1860.

I feel like the north wind is the government, the house across the street represents the 1%, and I, along with my other neighbors, are the people. We work hard, break our backs to keep our lives in order, to be happy, and as soon as we feel proud or like we've gotten ahead, the government comes in and say, thank you very much. Now do it again. Now we feel this is unfair. And we blame them, and we also blame the 1%. Sometimes, they're one in the same. How DARE they sit there and reap all the benefits from those of us actually doing the work? They create the mess, and we have to clean it up, while they continue to do it over and over again. Is it really their fault? Not necessarily, but I'm certainly not the one who planted all those trees in the first place. 

Everyone always says, oh the 1% has their hand in government pockets. Maybe they do. They say, hey guys, we have all these leaves like everyone else, but we don't want to pick them up, so the government comes in, blows a little air, and then voila! Work has been delegated. Maybe not, but it certainly feels like it sometimes.

I know some people think, if you don't like it, move, or hire someone, or stop being so lazy. But sometimes complaining and blaming others is easier.

It reminded me of Maya Angelou: If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.

Thank you Mother Nature for reminding me of this and putting me in my place. And also reminding me that I need hobbies.

The bad news is there's not much we can do about Mother Nature. We are, in fact, rather powerless there. So no real change can happen. The good news is something we can change is the government and our lives. We have the ability to change our situation in life if we don't like it and to change the people who are in control of our lives. The only way to do it is to stop complaining, speak out, vote, let people know, and hope one day the winds come from the south.