Tender Mercies of a Wind Tunnel

Tender Mercies of the Wind (Hers)

The wind is such a funny thing. One minute it can cool you from the heat of a hot summer’s day and the next it’s blowing your picnic away. Here are some of my crazy wind stories:

#1 – Kites are a great way to enjoy the wind, but when you are 1 of 8 kids in a family, it means you might not have your own kite to hold. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but when it’s kite day at an elementary school and you are in the 2nd grade, that’s a pretty big deal. My parents had already spent the evening pouring over the cub scout book making all sorts of kites for my other siblings, but time and supplies seem to run out and we didn’t have one that would work for me. As I left for school the next day, I was heartbroken. I loved flying kites and I wanted so much to be a part of the fun. Just before the event, my parents showed up at my classroom door with the biggest kite I’d ever seen. It was a huge diamond-shaped concoction as tall as the door that was made out of black trash bags with big letters that spelled out, “We Love You.” I’m pretty sure it didn’t win any prizes for the most colorful or the best design but it was definitely the biggest, and most importantly, I knew that my parents loved me.

That day, I was flying high… even if my kite wasn’t.

#2 – Do you have recycling in your area? We do, and by the time pick up day rolls around there is always a full can of lightweight items ready for take off at the slightest breeze. One particular week we could not seem to keep the cans upright because of the strong Idaho winds. I had been out numerous times, only to feel the embarrassment of chasing our trash all over the neighborhood, like when you forget to zip your back pack in Jr. High and the contents seem to pick the most inopportune time to dump out. I sent my son out to make one last ditch effort, but not before the trash collector pulled up. He jumped from his truck and and kindly helped gather all the trash, certainly going above and beyond his job duties. When my son got back in the house I quizzed him, “Was he mad, or upset? Did he say anything?” No, it didn’t seem to bother him. I was so grateful for an understanding driver that day who surely must have been picking up cans all morning.

#3 – I was helping to carry excess things from an office to the van to take home. It was after business hours, so the doors automatically locked when you left the building. Trying to hurry, and not wanting to find the electronic key in the van to get back in, I bent down to place my car key in the way of the door to keep it from closing. The wind picked up and pushed the door all the way open. To my amazement, the wind continued to blow hard enough to keep the door from closing. I decided to take my chances. I put my key back in my pocket, picked up the load of items, and hurried to the vehicle, all the while the wind still blowing with constant strong gusts. I laughed to myself at the idea of the wind holding the door for me. I smiled as I thanked Heavenly Father for sending the wind. A true tender mercy to let me know He was there and wanted to help.

I Live in a Wind Tunnel! (His)

Saying I live in a wind tunnel isn’t just a catchy metaphor. I live in a city where the wind is constantly blowing. Not a breeze, mind you – a really, REALLY strong wind. Here are just a few things that come from this almost non-stop gusting –

1. When you open your front door a little bit, the wind blows it open with enough force to knock children and pansies down.
2. After taking your trash out to the curb, you keep your running shoes on to catch the garbage that falls out and blows down the street.
3. Folks from Chicago are jealous of what we have (Take a minute to figure that one out if you didn’t catch it at first).
4. If my hair gets just a bit long, I get to look like Fabio every day…for free!
5. If you ever run out of gas and are lucky enough to be facing leeward, just open the doors and you’ll get to your destination faster than a sailboat in a 15-knot wind.

You get the idea. It never stops blowing here in eastern Idaho. It’s the one place on earth where long jumpers can actually get a negative distance on their jumps!

And it bugs me. A lot. When you’re out for a walk, you can only look straight ahead if your back’s to the wind. If you’re headed in a perpendicular direction to the wind, it means you run the risk of high-speed gravel bullets shooting at your face and uncovered body parts. If you’re forced to walk into the wind…heaven have mercy on your poor face. You learn very quickly how to walk backwards when you live here.

And so it was on a recent walk with my wife and kids this past week. We started our walk with a light breeze at our backs (light breeze meaning 42 miles/hour) and the afternoon was pleasant. Turning down another road, the wind was now to our side but the gravel Gatling gun shots were bearable. We finished our walk and turned to head back home.

Our legs and feet were walking, but we weren’t moving.

We tried harder, leaning into the wind at a 20-degree angle. No change. 30-degrees and still nothing. Leaning at a 45-degree angle, progress was slow and the stamina was in short supply. We were stuck. It was time for a tantrum.

“Why does the wind never stop!?!” I yelled into the raging gale.

“It’s kinda nice,” came the soft reply from my wife. Truth be told, she might have been yelling it, but she was behind me and the wind…well, you understand.

She was too happy about the wind, and it was up to me to put a stop to this optimism. “How can this be nice?” I asked her incredulously. “Name ONE good thing about this wind!”

“Well…we always have fresh air!”

I was silenced. Stunned that in this epic windstorm she was able to find something so wonderful about this thorn in my side. She was right (as usual) and was able to show me the rainbow on a cloudy day.

We were still stuck several blocks downwind from our home, the guns were still firing gravel bullets at our faces, and I think I saw the baby in the stroller blowing away while we were talking. With all the bad I was wishing upon the wind, however, my sweetheart had found one (delightful) thing about the wind that made all the irritations and Frabio-esque hairdos it created worth it.

Once again I was reminded that sometimes the big annoyances are nothing to worry about and that everything has a silver lining if you look for it…

…and the wind has died down enough for you to start your search.

.