There’s a moment after disruption when you survey what’s been undone. The leak that soaked your floor. The lawn grew wild during busy weeks. Hurricane winds that scattered your carefully tended world.

This is when we learn the difference between maintenance and restoration. When you start picking up the pieces.

Maintenance is the quiet, consistent work—mowing weekly, checking pipes, showing up to vote, staying engaged. It’s unglamorous but essential. When we maintain things properly, we prevent catastrophe. But life happens. We get busy. Storms come. Sometimes systems decay despite our best efforts. That’s when restoration begins.

Restoration is harder than maintenance. It requires assessment, effort, and often help from others. You grab a mop and fans to dry everything out. You clear fallen branches one at a time. You organize with neighbors to rebuild what was damaged. You advocate, vote, and work to strengthen weakened institutions.

But here’s the gift restoration offers: it teaches us what truly matters. As we rebuild, we learn which foundations are worth protecting and what maintenance they require going forward.

The beautiful part? We don’t need to do this alone. Your neighbor helps with branches. Communities organize cleanups. Citizens mobilize for change. Restoration becomes a shared commitment to better maintenance.

So pick up that first piece. Restore what’s broken. Then commit to the ongoing work of keeping it whole.

Normal isn’t about going back—it’s about building forward with wisdom earned from repair and maintenance.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

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