Oh, Sandy!

It’s 5 a.m. the morning after Hurricane Sandy’s rude and uninvited visit. I brew a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, turn on my laptop, and a post storm surge of gratitude rushes over me.

I am grateful I have a roof over my head, literally.
Seeing the flooding and evacuation in areas that got hit hard, I’m thankful for all the things I didn’t have to figure out: when and how to leave my home, what to take with me, how to round up elderly family members, how many days until I can sleep/eat/wash and begin again. I’m lucky I only have to give that a passing thought, and can quickly move onto the next thing I’m grateful for.

I’m grateful I can sleep/eat/wash.
Imagine having to worry about such things? Thanks goodness we don’t have to.

I’m grateful to not have to eat peanut butter sandwiches for several days in a row.
Sure, I like peanut butter sandwiches, but I also like a choice. And nothing can ruin your favorite food like being forced to eat it over and over again. I also realized how lame I am for not being able to think of anything else I could have eaten that doesn’t require refrigeration or cooking.

I’m grateful I didn’t have to bond over the loss of electricity.
I heard some folks claim that a power outage would bring their family closer together. Perhaps they envisioned themselves gleefully playing monopoly or scrabble, their animated face the stuff of a Saturday morning commercial, aglow in candlelight as they shared peanut butter sandwiches, hopes and dreams. But I know some of those people, and let’s just say that scenario would likely not have gone as planned. And I’m glad they didn’t have to find that out for themselves.

I am grateful for chores.
Well, not exactly having to do them, but knowing I can if I’m so inclined. It might not be a lot of joy to do things such as cook, wash dishes, wash clothes, go food shopping, go to the bank, fill up your gas tank but just imagine if you couldn’t do those things. That would really stink.

I’m grateful I didn’t have to figure out how to flush my toilet with a bucket of water from the bathtub.  ‘Nuff said.

I’m grateful I’m dry.
As I channel surfed cable (add ‘not losing cable tv’ to my list), it was hard to escape a reporter who was not soaking wet, plopped into the eye of the storm in harm’s way. One forecaster who weighed about 90 lbs. was hanging onto a beam of what was once part of the Atlantic City boardwalk as evacuation crews were ordering her to get out, and another guy in New York was standing in a surge of water up to his waist as a tsunami crashed over his head. I’m not even a fan of drizzle, so I’m glad to not be standing knee deep in rushing water while strapped to a fence so I don’t blow away (yes, I saw that too). 

I’m grateful that I can go to work today.
Yes my job can be frustrating, imperfect and is well past its expiration date, but today I’m thankful that I can wake up, turn on a light, drink a cup of coffee, write this article, wash, drive to the office and find my work and co-workers safe and sound. There is always tomorrow for it to annoy me again, but today is a good day to go to work.

Because I can.

And for that I am grateful.