Oh, So Organized

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Sometimes It's The Little Things

Sometimes it’s the big things that help us appreciate the little things. How often do we stop to acknowledge the things that we often take for granted like phone service, heat, gas, or hot water? We just expect things to work, to be there when we need them, and to go on with life as we know it.

Many of us, including me have experienced some crazy things in the past few days due to superstorm Sandy, not just loss of services, but also fear, panic, and disorientation. In our town and many others, there are still people without electricity or phone service. You may be one of them. Gas and food are becoming scarce. I'm grateful that our electricity, heat, phone and Internet have all been restored as of today. They came back in varying intervals. I’m starting to see some very positive reports. I hope that all of your services are back soon too.

In the midst of this “storm,” I reminded myself of many things that I was thankful for. It helped me to keep a grateful perspective even in the face of uncertainty, fear, and potential danger. In the last few days, these were some of the things that kept me going. I was grateful for…

The safety of our family and friends

Our house being spared from falling trees

The stillness caused by the blackout

Reading more than usual

The extra time with family

Laughter

Imposed digital break

Cozy blankets

The lights and heat returning after 24 hours of darkness and cold

All the days when we had electricity and warmth

A hot shower

A hot cup of coffee

A hot cup of soup

Flexible, understanding clients

Other people’s resourcefulness

My own resourcefulness

Other people’s strength

My own strength

The brightly colored fall leaves

Living close enough to my Mom to bring her to our house for safety

Finding one working cell phone area in our town

Friends and family that checked in on us

Friends and family we checked in on

Having food to eat

A fuller house than usual

Making “French” chocolate in honor of my aunt’s visit

Phone service returning after four days of being out

All the days we had perfectly good phone service

Answering a ringing phone

Picking up the phone to make a phone call

Internet and email restored after five days of being disconnected

Many days we had of fully operational Internet and email

The messages of hope and good wishes on Twitter, Facebook, and email

Acknowledging that I can’t control everything

Letting go

It’s going to take me time to get back to normal. There are hundreds of emails, tweets, and other messages to respond to. There are calls to return and projects to complete. I’m still catching my breath. I am so grateful to be sitting here today with my hot cup of jasmine green tea, writing, and sharing this post with you. While the storm put me a bit off schedule, we’re here now. Together.

I’ve missed you. I’d love to hear how you’re doing. What’s on your mind? Please take a moment or two to share. At this moment, what are you grateful for?