Things To Be Thankful For

Hurricane Ike - no, that's not what I'm thankful for. That sorry storm could have just fizzled into thin air and I would have been perfectly happy. No, what I'm thankful for regarding Hurricane Ike is that even though he was Category 2 sorry so-and-so with a Category 4 storm surge, and that instead of the eye passing over, the eye wall went right over my house, yeah, all that - in spite of all that, we came through with our lives and still a roof over our heads.

Ok, so the roof has a little wear on it and some missing shingles and two openings where the turbines decided to move over just a little - just enough to let rain get into the and through the hall bathroom ceiling, oh yeah and the kitchen ceiling. Oh and the red maple tree in the back yard decided to crack and fall about 6-7' up - but it fell parallel to the house. The fence - well that's another story. It came down on one side - or at least 3 panels came down. Those panels are now held up with thin rope and a tree stake. If Jazz ends up chasing a squirrel across that side of the yard, it's history.

Ok, I'm not thankful for having to take cold showers in the dark because here it is Wednesday and we still have no electricity - I don't think anyone would be thankful for that - wait, I have a friend who has no running water and has to go outside and down to the corner to the "blue chalet" when she has to get up in the middle of the night. She might be happy to have a cold shower in the dark.

We have some minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of things, and my bank account is going to take an unplanned hit covering my deductible (I hope that's all I have to cover) - but when I consider how bad it could have been and how much worse other people have it, I praise God that I'm alive as are all of my family friends and that even though it's a little battered and worn, I have a roof over my head. Oh and I have a generator so I have a few lights, a fan, the TV (OK, when you don't have cable and have to put up with either round the clock hurricane recovery coverage or inane sitcoms that may not be something to be thankful for), and I have access to the internet through Mark's Verizon Air Card!!!! Thank you, God!