Today I am reminded about how we cannot judge other people’s situations and experiences by our own. Yesterday morning I slathered the kids with sunscreen, as usual, and sent them on their merry way to day camp. The weather was dismal and rainy here for most of the day, and in the afternoon a thunderstorm ripped through and knocked our power out. There was so little light coming through the window, I couldn’t even work until the power came back on. I thought to myself that the kids probably were being kept indoors, and that it was a shame they were getting so little benefit from their coating of sunscreen.
This morning I mentioned that thought to my husband, and he said, “What are you talking about? It was sunny all day. I felt like I was getting a sunburn.” He had been on the same side of town as the kids. It hadn’t rained at all over there. Apparently he had been surprised by how wet the ground was here when he returned home.
Same town, same day. Different weather, different experience.