Bearbells by Leslie Noonan
The weak beams of the cars’ headlights barely pierce the absolute darkness, pressing down with a feeling of deep oppression. The wipers kept time with the turn of the tires along the black roads, as a thick fog twined its way like a living being through the nearest trees. The road was littered with trees and branches, threatening to make it impassable. Slowly the vehicle inched forward, crunching over frozen branches and downed hydro wires, and with the constant sound of trees splitting and crashing reverberating through the night. More than one frozen limb landed on the car with a smash of ice and wood. Onward through an apocalyptic landscape, white knuckled hands on the wheel and grim determination in the soul.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the car pulled onto the final road to reach its destination. The destruction here was absolute, with fir and pine trees piled across the lanes like fallen sentries guarding the lair of some fairy tale ogre. The smell of pine pitch scented the cold air. With a groan of frustration from the driver, the car continued to inch forward, creeping from one side of the road to the other, branches scrapping along the doors. The fog was now thick and dense, obscuring anything further ahead than a few feet. Fallen trees materialized out of this fog, threatening to ensnare the car within their twisted branches. There, a flicker of light, gone as fast as it was seen. A will-o-the-wisp in the night beckoning travelers closer. Another flicker, and then a steady glow through the freezing rain. Safety at last.
Everyone will be talking about this ice storm for a long time, with stories of challenges, of courage and of resiliency. Resiliency is a common term in mental health, as those with high resilience are better able to adapt to challenging situations and emerge stronger for the experience. Those people who are resilient generally have a group of qualities that provide this resiliency, including a positive outlook, strong social supports, self-compassion and strong coping skills. They also have good problem solving skills and are flexible when challenges arise. Even more important, resiliency and the coping skills that come with it are learnable skills. Children who are encouraged to engage in healthy risk taking in a supportive environment where they can learn from mistakes build problem solving skills. Children also model the behaviors of the adults around them, so parents need to model resilient behaviors, including emotional regulation. Those resilient abilities were certainly needed over the last week, as trees caused damage, basements flooded and the power still remains out for some folks. This too shall pass.
As for hiking, that is a dangerous endeavor right now. Trails are virtually impossible to navigate and widow makers swing dangerously from broken limbs. Even walking paths that are paved are a cause for concern, indeed being in your own backyard requires increased caution. The George Langman sanctuary near Bass Lake has workers struggling to clear debris from the swan pens and trails are completely covered in fallen trees. It will be months before the damage is cleared away. There will be no hiking local trails for the next while, but this is where resiliency kicks in, and opportunities for hiking further off beckon enticingly. Adventure awaits, though hopefully without the power outages and falling trees.