Sunday, September 28, 2008

Perspective

I have a hard time, sometimes, coming up with things to blog about. I guess since I've been doing this almost three years, I feel like I've run out of things to talk about. Sometimes I'll think something is kinda funny and realize I already did that somewhere deep in my archives. Sometimes I am just too busy with three kids to stand my old bones up at the granite slab sit down at the computer and put thoughts together.

I thought about all kinds of things I could post about today, though.

I could tell you about how I got a speeding ticket from a fourteen year old ass of a cop on Friday and how I almost missed the birthday pedicure I had scheduled on the only day I have been without my three children since, well, since pretty much they were born.

Or maybe, the huge fit my SEVEN year old threw in front of no less than ten of our new neighbors in the middle of our street might be more interesting.

And then I sliced my fingernail in half with a razor and that really sucked.

And then I got another call from our realtor relaying the message that our buyers now want a prettier kitchen faucet (and solar screens, and a new garbage disposal, maybe a new AC and definitely a roofer to look at the house because, no, they aren't busy) before Tuesday obviously not understanding the clause THEY included to take the house "as is".

And of course, there's the bathtub full of blue shampoo that my daughter decorated while I was blind in the shower.

But nothing beats the fact that my C*mc*st DVR has been broken for almost a month leaving me without 57 of the good channels on the upstairs teevee and I can't get someone out here to fix it. How now I have to watch the forty inch brand-new birthday gift plasma screen if I want to catch the House marathon. With no screen guide! The horrors!

And I'm freaking forty. FORTY. My mom was old when she was forty. You know what that means.

GAWD. My life sucks. Boo-hoo for me.

Then I read the paper.

While lying in my hammock with my tea and my healthy daughter.

I read this.

And took a look at this.

Really puts things in a certain perspective doesn't it?

I have seen the devastation on my DVR-less television ever since the storm. It's the Overcoming Ike show all day, every day on all the local channels, you can't see much else but the devastation. I haven't been able to have my morning love fest with Matt Lauer for a while now. Makes me cranky. I see all day how the homes are gone, the businesses are dark, and find out which schools will be starting back that day. Then there's some people complaining because they still don't have power and then they show the debris trucks, well, picking up debris. And then I turn it off. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have power. My kid went to school last week. I finally got my hands on some milk. Two kinds. Can I just watch The Today Show please?

I had no idea. I just assumed everyone heeded the mandatory evacuation orders and left when we did. I thought the place was deserted. I hoped it was deserted.

I knew some people died in that storm. As of now the official count is like 24 and I think that's the last I heard of it last week. Things ARE getting back to normal and we haven't heard much about any rescue/recovery attempts. At least I haven't. I've seen nothing more about Ike on the national news and the local news deals more about how to help the survivors, many of whom are just that. They survived, but have nothing left. We don't even hear that much about them anymore. Maybe our local media doesn't want to air about the dead or thought-dead because it's hard to hear and probably harder to tell about. Who knows. I just know that I was too busy worrying about my own petty problems to think about just how lucky we were get out of here when we did and even luckier to have a house to live in.

Most of those people thought they had enough time to get out. They waited until Friday to secure their homes and pack their things. We were going to wait. We thought about staying. Would this have been us if we did? If the storm had been stronger? If we'd bought the house we wanted last year so much closer to the water?

So I got a speeding ticket and I'm forty.

At least I lived to be forty.

And I still have my lead foot.

9 comments:

Jana said...

Although we stayed during the storm (I think I'm further west than you are), we consider ourselves quite lucky, too, after driving around and seeing all the roofs covered in the signature FEMA-blue tarps.

I've been going through a morning show withdrawal, too. Except I'm missing Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts since we're GMA people.

And forty is NOT old. In fact, forty seems quite young to me. Now fifty? That's old.

Crazed Nitwit said...

At least you got your pedicure. I think about the aftermath of Ike even though it's old news in my area.

I'm in class when Matt in on. I have clinicals on Tuesdays 1:30-9:30 so I'll miss my love puppy House. Thank goodness my dvr IS working.

No matter how rough or mundane our lives seems there are always people who are worse off. They don't have clean drinking water or 35% of the women die in childbirth or the average life span in sub sahara africa is age 30.

Not trying to make anyone feel guilty, it's just how I try to stay in perspective.

I've lived to be 46 and a half. Better than some of the alternatives. ;)

L said...

I think you are selling yourself short here. :)
You are very interesting and you don't need a disaster or a horrible life to prove that.

I'd just like to know whatever happened to that car parked on the street in front of your house.
What did you decide to do about E's hair?
How are things going at J's school this year?

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

40 and fabulous. FABulous!

Aunt Becky said...

Sometimes it's good to get some perspective (I've been aching to get some of my own to get out of my funk), but that's just....awful. Just terrible.

Wow.

Just.

Wow.

Amie said...

Very nice perspective.

Shane H. said...

Now that puts things into perspective!

Erin said...

I've been disappointed by the lack of coverage, too. I'm just thankful my people and yours are all okay.

Heidi said...

Yeah, in "everyday" life that all adds up to a big suck. But when you put it in perspective the way you did, it isn't anything, huh? Congrats on being such a cool and beautiful 40!