The other day our world as we knew it paused.
A storm knocked out our power, our internet, and our cell service.

Instead of waking to the incessant loud buzzing of alarms and dashing headfirst into the morning’s race to get everything done, we awoke to silence with nowhere to go.
Work stopped.
School stopped.
Losing ourselves in our phones stopped.
The never ending cycle of laundry stopped.

Life as we had come to know it stopped.

At first, like all humans, we bucked at the change.
There was whining.
There was frustration.
There was exasperation.
And then we realized, as with most change, the only thing we could control was our reaction.
So, we found all our candles and flashlights, got reconnected with our board games, strung up some battery operated lights, and got creative with the food that was surely going to spoil without a working fridge.
Then, when the storm outside had finally stopped, we piled in our car and took long drives so we could warm up, charge our phones, and find parking lots with good cell service.
We traveled through town after town, exploring new restaurants and chatting about everything and nothing. We visited with family who had not lost power to just connect in the space of paused time.

And when the power and internet and cell service finally came back on after two whole days, instead of retreating back into our solitary lives and losing ourselves in our phones, we cozied up in our living room and rented a movie - together, all of us.
As my oldest headed to bed that night, he said “Thanks for the past few days. It was fun.”

Fun.

Despite the frustration of not being able to connect much with the outside world, losing income from missed work, needing to repair lots of damage in our yard, sports schedules changing multiple times, and being without the luxuries we’ve grown accustomed to, we had fun.

And that’s the secret to life, right?

When times are hard or frustrating or beyond your control, they can be made so much better by finding the bright spots and holding on to them and by reconnecting with your people.

Maybe the lesson is to do those things even when the world doesn’t force you to take a pause.

Maybe now is a good time to put down your phone, leave the laundry for another day, and reconnect with the people that matter the most.

Maybe now is a good time for you to hit pause.