I live in the Puget Sound. As I write, the snow is falling. The snow has been falling for days. We have around 2 feet at our house. For those in the Midwest or East Coast, that doesn’t mean much. That’s the way it is in winter. In the Puget Sound it’s “Snowmaggedon” or “Snopocalypse”. As the first storm rolled in, the grocery stores had bare shelves – unable to keep up with the onslaught of panicked shoppers. We’re now on storm 4 having been hit one after the other and I’m snowed in, my car buried.
What’s interesting is the difference between the areas. It seems like Puget Sounders are “wimps” or “whiners” but that doesn’t take into account the difference in preparation. In Chicago, they have plenty of opportunities to learn how to drive in the snow. Here it’s hard to learn to drive in conditions that happen only a few times a year. We have no experience driving in slippery, icy, unpredictable conditions. Also, we aren’t prepared for snowy weather. We don’t have nearly enough equipment or de-icing supplies to keep the roads consistently clear. And then there’s topography. We have hills EVERYWHERE. Hills and ice do not go together.
So, outwardly it seems like we all experience the same thing but the reality is we have differing abilities to deal with what life throws our way. What is significant to one is not significant to the other. What storms are you facing? Do you look around and wonder how one person is managing with similar circumstances while you are holed up, not going anywhere? Try not to compare. You have lived your life and faced down your storms. Just because you seem to be struggling more in a similar situation, that isn’t what matters. You have your life and you’re living it. When the storms hit, do what you need to do to get through. Don’t compare yourself to others. As they say it’s comparing “apples to oranges”.