Spectre of the Lapse, 65th Day of Spring, 525 M.E. (Helios): The air conditioning has been restored. The technician showed up for his 12-4 pm appointment at 5:45, and the cool air was blowing through the house by 6:15. His explanation for the breakdown was, "it had shut off," with no explanation as to why it had shut off other than, "it happens." But I'm a forward-looking kind of a guy. It doesn't matter why it had stopped, just that it's running now and I can survive another season. 

Waiting around for the technician, however, disrupted my mediation schedule. I didn't sit in the morning because, you know, mornings, and I didn't want my sitting to be interrupted in the afternoon by the technician's visit. After he left, I didn't want to sit and miss the Celtic's game, which went horribly wrong and was something I wish I hadn't seen. So I wound up missing the whole day.    

Last night, after the game (and the Celtics' season) was mercifully over, severe storms and tornadoes hit Missouri and Kentucky and killed at least 21 people, with the total number of deaths expected to rise. The tornadoes were part of a major system that rolled across the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic Friday night and downed power lines and sent debris whipping through the streets. That storm came through here at around 8:00 this morning with thunder and rainstorms, but it was far weaker and diminished here in Georgia compared to what had earlier come through Missouri and Kentucky.

I knew the storms were coming when I went to bed last night due to the forecasts of the National Weather Service. Weather reports, from The Weather Channel to AccuWeather to iPhones to your local television weatherperson, all rely on the data and forecasts of the NWS. But due to DOGE-initiated layoffs and retirements, the Service has lost nearly 600 people from a workforce that had been as many as 4,000. Those reductions impact the work of collecting the data used to make forecasts, such as launching weather balloons, and reduce the number if people who turn that data into crucial warnings when extreme weather is on the way. The NWS office in eastern Kentucky that covered the area where last night's tornadoes hit no longer had a permanent overnight forecaster and had to rely on nearby offices for support.

Although the thunderstorms have passed, I'm reluctant to go on my alternating-day walk today because  it's still dark, cloudy and unsettled outside and I don't want to get caught in another downpour like I did a few weeks ago. I could stay inside today and make up for my missed sitting yesterday, or I can wait it out and see if the weather clears up later this afternoon. I honestly don't know what I want to do or what I will do, as already, after missing just one day of meditation, I feel disoriented and "off."

My official attitude toward my alternating-day schedule is to try and maintain it as best I can, but if I miss a day here or there, no biggie, just pick back up the next day as if nothing happened. No need to stress out over it, even if I miss a sitting day for one reason and then have to pass on a walking day the next for another reason. But that's easier said than done. It's apparent my mental health and wellbeing rely on keeping my alternating-day schedule, and I have to learn to adapt when disrupters like air conditioning breakdowns and inclement weather throw my schedule into a tailspin.