Thursday, September 14, 2017

blessings in disguise...


beginning with that little 3 month old puppy someone dumped in our neighborhood two years ago and who made her way into our yard and hearts. It's not that she has brought a lot of joy and laughter into our lives, which she has, but that without her I would never have met the neighbors on the street who I now stop and visit with while walking her in the evenings and most especially Rocky and Melissa. I would not even have known that Rocky was a contractor/carpenter and without Rocky, I would have been at a total loss as to how to find a good contractor or one that would jump on the work immediately and not take advantage of me. I trust Rocky to be fair and do good work and he did not hesitate one minute when I finally walked down to his house last Sunday and asked him to come assess the rotten wood I had uncovered.

And while it would appear that half the house flooding would be a disaster and the aftermath would entail long hours of hard work, which it has, it too is a blessing in disguise for several reasons. The first of which is that we would never have discovered the damage to the structure of the house if it had not flooded and we hadn't had to tear out the sheet rock in the back bedroom and little bathroom and two layers of siding on the outside of the upper house. The damage there was not caused by the flood but the flood caused it to be revealed.

The second reason is that, while we did lose the bed and a chair and the futon and bookcases and my art and design books and everything else that was within reach of nearly 18” of water, we really didn't lose anything that would have devastated us.

And third, while we talked a good talk about remodeling those two rooms, in truth, we probably never would have done it. Now we get to.

And last, ditto for the shop and the four built-in rooms in the big metal building. They were awful but in the going on four years we have had the shop we have done nothing. That part was unusable for many reasons and for the last two days, Rocky's crew have been engaged in not just tearing out the part of the walls that got wet, but demolishing that entire part of the shop. I'm thrilled! Once he has completed the work of rebuilding people's homes damaged in the flood, he will start on rebuilding the interior rooms of the shop and I will have work space over there that I can heat and air condition and be able to work in over the summer.

And finally, while we have been inconvenienced for a few weeks and now have a great story to tell about the great flood and suffered some loss, so many more lost everything. For all this I can be grateful.




14 comments:

  1. Beautiful. One thing does lead to another, doesn't it? When we thought Irma was going to hit here I did have the idea that if we had damage, we'd have to do some restoration and repair which is much needed. Thankfully that didn't happen.
    But damn. The restoration and repair is still much needed.

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  2. Positive! Positive! Positive. That is wonderful and your words made me feel good. In life some rain may fall, but then the flowers bloom. I know you have a lot to get through, and it won't be easy, but your attitude will make all things possible.

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  3. Yes, there is a bright side. I am glad you found it. Too bad so much hard work was necessary. Now you have a future to look forward to. Good!

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  4. Blessings come to us in many shapes----dogs, hurricanes, friends

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  5. It's wonderful that you can see the bright side of what could have been a devastating disaster.

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  6. you will acknowledge others when you hear flood in later years. It makes me feel good to hear such a positive approach toward survival.I was flooded in 93,98 and 08 giving up my river home for a few years until I felt like repairing what I had torn out

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  7. Well, this is the most optimistic post I've seen in a long time. To be able to appreciate the positive aspects of such a devastating incident is definitely a gift! Good for you! There's something to be said for being pushed to make positive changes that otherwise may have taken a back seat indefinitely.

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  8. So much loss. So much work. It will be a long slog through, but the result satisfying.

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  9. It is such a joy knowing you. It keeps me humble to read you and how you view life and what it dishes up. I am in awe of your strength of character but more in your resolve to make the best of whatever the situation and see the linings to the clouds even if sometimes they aren't exactly polished silver. Namaste friend.

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  10. I'm glad you're able to see the blessings in disguise! Because that must mean that you're not quite as exhausted & can face forward instead of having to still dig in the muck.

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  11. Optimists have 20/20 vision. There's always good in everything.

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  12. Wow, I'm sure I could never have been so positive in the face of such a disaster, but you're right about silver linings. I'm glad you found so many!

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  13. I suspect as time goes on, you'll find even more blessings hidden in the debris. Something like this is so overwhelming that it takes some time to absorb it. I admire your attitude so much, and I hope that things become easier every day. Even the littlest improvement can loom large when you've got so much to contend with.

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  14. Leave it to you to find a silver lining;) If the shoe was on the other foot, you would be the one lending a hand. Remember to take care of yourself through all of this ~ it will be a marathon, not a sprint. It's a relief to read that you have people to help who know what they're doing.

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.