Please Be Safe Out There, Everyone.

Winter Storm Fern did not come to play.


There is something about the weather that’ll make you cower under confidence in less than a minute flat.

There’s snow, and then, there’s black ice. One can cripple a pathway before you, but you may be able to maneuver your way through it. The other can paralyze you; change you from your able-bodied self to someone you have to learn to know all over again.

When officials say, “Stay off the roads unless you absolutely have to be on them”, many of us should heed that plea.

It’s too cold here for DOT to begin treating the roads again. So, I’m seated under a heated blanket, sipping my coffee, and staring out the balcony door of my fourth (technically fifth) floor apartment.

I’d rather be on a plage in a tropical setting, rubbing my feet together under a beach-themed towel.

It is not lost on me how many people are without power, are currently on the street struggling to stay warm, or do not have employers who care about their well-being.

I am grateful that I can say this. I thank God that these words can leave my lips. Luxuries can be both big and small at the same time. I acknowledge that.

Stay safe and warm, yet thankful if you’re able to do these things.


Scattered Words: Poems for Jernee Timid Loadholt is available now! Have you gotten your copy? Hardcover|eBook