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Rochester Local

Extreme Adulting: When Wild Weather Strikes

Here in SE MN, we are quite familiar with extreme weather:  cold, snow, hail, rainfall. You get my point…we seem have it a wide variety of extreme situations! Furthermore, 2019 has been one for the record books in terms of precipitation. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish this type of extreme on anyone and I understand other communities across the globe have different extreme weather to contend with than we do in SE MN. The bottom line and common denominator: Mother Nature. She is a force we cannot compete with; instead, we must pull up our big kid pants and buckle down to the take care of business and coin the term, Extreme Adulting. For those who may be unfamiliar with the term adulting, Dictionary.com defines it as, “the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.” When we add the word extreme to the term, we get a whole new level of responsibilities.

flooded yard

Before I get too much further, let me get one thing off my chest…I see you. I see communities across our region managing the aftermath of many extremes: polar vortex, snowmaggeddon, hail, and most recently heavy “training thunderstorms” that have swamped our crops and homes. I see families buckling down to sort through flooded or sewer filled homes. I see neighbors suctioning water out of a failed sump pump, moving belongings, trudging through waste, offering meals, support, and creating a true sense of community. I see city leaders making themselves available, vacating positions, and starting conversations. These events of the last few weeks have given me a different outlook on the important things.

giant hail

The most important lessons I’ve learned = SAFETY + COMPASSION

Most everything else takes a back seat to safety. Ensuring your loved ones and neighbors are safe. Sometimes safety requires extreme measures; however, the people affected by these extreme adulting events are the irreplaceable pieces to the puzzle. Some families have their home routines interrupted; although we are all supposed to be at work and uphold our routine obligations. For others, their role is to help lighten the load and lift up everyone’s mood. Each person plays a key role in the safety of others.

giant hail

Speaking from the heart, our latest and most overwhelming extreme adulting situation was ONLY managed through sheer compassion and selflessness of our neighborhood. There’s something special about a team of families coming together to tackle extreme adulting together. The reason I’m mentioning this is because I urge each one of you reading this article to reach out and get to know your neighbors. Really get to know them; and not just in passing. These people are living in your immediate circle and may need a helping, friendly face to tackle whatever extreme adulting situation stands in their path. If you need an excuse, use National Night Out! Tuesday, August 6 is just around the corner and it may be the perfect time for you to engage with those living around you. Share your favorite summer recipe or drink, get to know them!

My hope after looking back over the first 6 months of 2019, is that our actions speak volumes to our toddler in regards to the importance of safety and compassion. Perhaps these string of events happened for that sole purpose in our community. We will never know why these events happened, but we do know extreme adulting situations do not always come with a warning. I hope these events are few and far between; however, if your family is presented with one of these challenges, having a neighborhood available to tackle the situation will help lighten the load. My family is incredibly blessed with our community. Trust me, our team has our struggles; however, one thing is certain…when times get tough the community gets moving.

Will you celebrate your community during National Night Out? Have you faced extreme adulting and you didn’t even know it?

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