Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Thankful Thursday

What surprised me this week?
This was an easy question to answer. Last Friday morning my husband and I stumbled downstairs and, as we always do, went straight to our computers. Some people drink coffee to rouse themselves in the morning. My husband and I take a few minutes every morning and visit our favorite websites. It's our "gentle" way of waking up. Halfway through the perusal of my favorite blogs, the husband gets up and ambles into the kitchen. The next thing I heard (in an unusually elevated voice) went something like this... "Oh no! Oh no! This isn't good!!!" At this point in the story I will interject that I'm not really a morning person, so I did my very best to ignore his remarks. He could tell I wasn't responding so he said, "Suzanne, you've GOT to come in here." I could tell from the excited tone in his voice that I wasn't going to like what I saw, but I did as I was asked and pointed myself toward the kitchen. What I found was a kitchen in ruins. Water all over the wood floors ... a soaking wet carpet in the dining room ... and wall and floor damage in the finished basement below. The water filter for the ice-maker in our fridge had sprung a substantial leak sometime in the early morning hours and had flooded the joint. Ok, so here's the "what surprised me this week" part. It's covered by insurance! I'm giddy with excitement. We've had disasters before, but they've never been covered by insurance. This one is. I get all my hardwood floors repaired, sanded and refinished. New carpet. New walls. New paint and floorboards. I'm asking you, could it get any better??? It's kind of a mess right now, but I'm just so excited about the prospect of having everything spic and span, refurbished and renovated. Sometimes a shoddily made part can be such a blessing!

What moved me or touched me this week?
Two nights ago I sat and listened as John McCain conceded the election to Barack Obama in the midst of his solemn supporters. Later I watched as President-elect Obama gave his acceptance speech to an exuberant crowd. I was moved by both of those speeches.

What inspired me this week?
Most of my children are politically motivated individuals. We have rousing political discussions around our table when we are together. During this election one particular child has given his resources, time, and efforts to a cause that was, in our opinion, worth fighting for. He has inspired me to become more politically involved -- especially when it pertains to values we hold dear.