Taking things for granted

 

 

 

Turning on the washing machine, the dryer, the dishwasher, the iron.  The hairdryer.  Flushing the toilet.  Toilet paper.  Turning the faucet and getting clean, running water.  Brushing my teeth.  A choice of a shower or a bath.  Warm water.  A fresh change of dry clothes.  Clean sheets.  A comfortable mattress – not a stadium seat with a sleeping bag.

 

I should not be complaining about mopping.  I am just trying to find a shine.  In Biloxi they are using mops to find the floor.

 

I am happy to be doing laundry.  I still have my clothes. 

 

I am glad to be watering the yard.  I still have control over the amount of moisture it receives.  I’m just glad I have a yard.  And landscaping.  In Mobile they are looking at yards of mud and downed trees.

 

I am glad to be able to be able to cook a meal.  I have a working oven and stove, refrigerator, and freezer.  I have a selection of foods to eat.  In New Orleans there is a struggle to even find water to drink.

 

It seems frivolous to work on a scrapbook when others have lost all but their memories.

 

I see the images on the televsion.  Empathizing yet safely cocooned, miles away.  I think of the parents with little ones looking to them for assurance.  Expectant moms transferred to new doctors.  The brides having final fittings.  Services expected to provide 24/7 coverage yet no one is available to man the phones.  First graders with new imprinted memories of school.  Funerals that must be postponed.  Phones that ring busy, hour after hour.  Gas stations where the posted price no longer matters.  The station is closed.  Rolls of film that will never be developed.  Precious baby books that float away.  Critical reports that no longer seem important at companies that cannot open their doors. A scheduled closing on a house that no longer exists.  An oxygen tank that is running low.  A husband missing a wife. A wife searching for a husband. 

 

Tears of fear, relief, grief, hunger, pain, despair, gratitude... 

 

I pray for the lives that have been lost and the hearts that have been broken. While I face my own personal challenges each day, their plight puts it in perspective.