Don't Take it for Granted

I've been thinking lately about how we really take the things that make our lives easier/nicer/more fulfilling for granted. Channel flipping during commercials during the noon news, I came upon Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel. He's was in the Rockies, in Livingston, Montana. On horseback with a cattle rancher, he asked the rancher if she just marveled at the view of the snowcapped mountain range he saw from his backyard. The rancher admitted she hardly noticed it anymore...she realized she really did take it for granted. 

After Katrina, we were reminded in a big way how nice electricity--and the air conditioner it powers--really is. We were without power for seven days. That means the freezer wasn't working, so all the food inside thawed out and spoiled. And we were hot. Very hot. 

Folks in Yazoo City and Nashville are now experiencing some inconveniences and discomforts as they deal with the aftermath of a tornado and floods. My friend Carol honestly, and humorously, conveyed her frustrations about not having cable after the flood:

I’m having my own personal crisis! The cable has been out since Sunday! Today I called Comcast AGAIN – and apparently I don’t have it on the right channel. I must go shoot myself now. All I need is a Laura Ingalls Wilder dress and I can just stay home in my little prairie condo and shoot at varmints or  push Nellie Olsen down the well.

And as if that's not bad enough, her phone isn't working and her air conditioner is not operating well. 

I’m fed up with the flood. Still don’t have phone service. Can’t even get an elderly woman with a hatchet to look at my air conditioner (all the legitimate people are dealing with the floodies so I’m up to begging for Freon on street corners)

And to top it off...there are sightseers who want to see the flood and/or resulting damage.

And yesterday about 5 pm ¾’s of Nashville apparently decided “lets get in the car and go look at Bellevue and lets drive really slowly so that tired people trying to get home from work are stuck behind us.” It took an hour and a half to get home – it usually takes 25 to 30 mins. Where are these people coming from??? Go back to the shelters people!!!

Electricity. Cable. Phones. Necessary for survival? One could argue...

As I sit in my cool, air conditioned home this afternoon, taking a lunch break from "real" writing to watch a little cable TV, I'm counting my blessings. Blessings that we rarely even think about unless we have them snatched from us unexpectedly. Just sitting here, I'm thankful for my house, my sweet Roxie laying at my feet, the cardinals in the feeder outside my window, the quiet of being alone for a few hours and for the opportunity to be able to make a living writing in this environment. And I'm thankful for the blessing of knowing that soon this quiet house will be filled with many voices of people I love.

And I don't take for granted this beautiful weather--sunshine and blue skies for Fondren After Five tonight! I;ll be heading to Sal & Mookie's to celebrate Lou Shornick's 92nd birthday! I'll be Lou doesn't take much for granted. And neither should we.

What are you thankful for today?

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan