The New Normal After Sandy

Sandy is behind me. Our power is back. Our lives are back to normal. Our yard looks fine. I feel blessed. I feel normal.

I had breakfast at the Nazareth Diner a couple of days ago and noticed that it felt strange to me to walk right in and be seated. I told the hostess the last time we were there, we were lined up outside waiting to get in as they were one of the few places that had power last week. We were all pretty grungy and would have waited all day for a hot breakfast. After that, we went to GameStop -- weird, I know -- Sam's Club, and then to the Y to workout and get a hot shower.

A student who works in my office at DeSales University whose family lives in New Jersey told me this week that her family expects to be without power until Thanksgiving and that shocked me back into reality. Sandy isn't a memory for many people.

Today, I took my dog to the Nazareth Borough Dog Park and saw the damage. Again, a reminder that there are still issues remaining.

My in-laws who live in Upper Nazareth had 10 trees come down last Monday night and not one struck the house. Again, we feel blessed.

It's weird to walk around as if everything is normal, because in some ways, it isn't and for many people it won't be for a long time.