Summertime thunder storms stroll along the emerald coast of Northwest Florida nearly every afternoon this time of the year. The wind whips up, blows the lightning and thunder through, and then, we’re quickly back to the business of sunshine.  The other day a storm, uncharacteristically, decided to linger into the night; we fell asleep to the lullaby of distant thunder with the cat curled up at our feet. Near  midnight, a sharp jolt shot through the house and a clap of thunder hurled us out of our dreams and onto our feet. The lightning strike surged into the house, ghoulishly turning on the TV in the nook where we watch the news.  Clocks flashed and the cat skittishly followed my husband through the house.  The storm raged for about thirty minutes and then, as quickly as it arrived, it moved on. Our slumber interrupted, we finally faded back to sleep to the lullaby of distant thunder. The cat reclaimed his space, curled up at our feet.

The real interruption arrived the next morning when I plopped into the big leather chair at my desk and booted up my computer.  Ready to do some research for my book, I had a list of websites to visit but the wireless system wasn’t cooperating; my internet access was lost.  For two days my husband and I struggled to get things back up and online. Finally, after a trip to Best Buy, with a new wireless adapter in hand, I got my beloved internet back after a two day long interruption.  Although I’d had limited internet access throughout the ordeal via my iPhone, I didn’t have the full capacity offered by my desktop.  Oh sure, I was able to get my email, moderate my blog comments, and, even follow friends and relatives on Facebook, but my research and writing were sorely interrupted.

That’s often how it is with our day-to-day lives. We have a plan, we’re on a path, we’ve got the goal in sight. And then, an interruption.  Life is a series of events sprinkled with interruptions. Our task is to enjoy the events and deal with the interruptions. Life’s interruptions require work and usually provide a heap of frustration but when we overcome them, and get back to the events at hand, we are usually stronger for the experience. Our challenge is to always refocus on the events and not linger in the interruptions or let them throw us off course.

Last night I loaded the software, plugged in the new wireless adapter, and was back on track, pursuing my goal. The interruption forced me to upgrade to a better wireless adapter and now my computer is faster than ever.  It’s funny how interruptions often have the uncanny ability to make us better. My lesson learned; stay focused on the events but take time to embrace the interruptions. Life’s big and little interruptions just might make us better in the end.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 2:20 pm and is filed under Plan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.