The odd things...

It's strange how a little rain, a little wind, a little thunder can make thankful for the tiny things in life. You know, the things we don't even think about thinking about. Like not being soaked through to the skin. Like not worrying about all the bugs seeking shelter in your shadow. Like not gagging at underarm odor or having diapers or trash service.

I leave out the clean water idea because we seem to have been overwhelmed with clean water movements lately. But really, can you imagine life without trash service. The little storm that swept through here would have been a very icky storm if the trash guys hadn't done their job.

Of course, I appreciate electricity already. We've all gone through snippets of time when our power has flashed off, and suddenly we are faced with the stark reality that we have perishables in the fridge, and then we move to wondering what we will have to do if the perishable melt. Most of us don't go on to wondering what stench will start to hang over the neighborhoods as all the food in the grocery stores and conenience stores start to rot. Yucky thought.

And air conditioning. Tomorrow, I will be sitting outside at a festival all day long, entertaining kids with snow and frostbite and games. I'm wondering how to endure the heat. I wonder how so many people before us managed to endure this kind of heat without air conditioning or mosquito repellent or sunscreen. At leat, I console myself that if I get too hot, I can always go sit in the car with the AC running for a while.

And pools. The kids splashed and played in the pool tonight. I take learning how to swim for granted, but what if you've never seen a body of water any bigger than a bucket?

And then I wonder what I ever find to complain or worry about. I list them and laugh: I'll be late for church (as I'm DRIVING in my AIR CONDITIONED CAR!), it's TOO cold at work, the kids made a mess with ALL their toys, I have TOO much laundry to do!

Luckily for me, I've found my favorite thinking spot, and I've been thinking and thinking and thinking. I feel like Christopher Robin is patting me on the head saying, "Silly old Bear."