A New Look at a New Day

In her most recent post, spilledcookies wrote “On this first day of November, I am thankful for our home.  Though I am thankful for the house itself and having a roof over our heads, I am more thankful for the things that make it a home. ” I couldn’t agree more.

If you watch TV or look at news on the internet, you have seen the devastation that Hurricane Sandy left after pounding the East Coast. Many people at the Jersey Shore and in parts of New York lost their homes and everything they owned. You can see the sorrow on their faces, the uncertainty of what the future holds. Last night I watched as a woman sifted through what was left of her home, which had burned to the ground. She was grateful when a piece of broken plate was found – a reminder of the life she once had.

When I got my first clear look at our backyard in the daylight, I wanted to cry. There are trees everywhere, our fence is broken, and our deck is gone. We can’t even start to clean up until an insurance adjuster assesses the damage. But I am grateful that our house was spared. The siding may be a little warped from where the deck came off and there are many roof tiles in our yard, but the house I fell in love with the first time I saw it 7 years ago is unharmed. Our power is on, the internet and cable have been restored, the kids will go back to school on Monday, and hopefully my husband will be able to go back to work very soon once power is restored to the building. Life as we know it is slowly getting back to normal.

To take a quote from spilledcookies post, “Though I am thankful for the house itself and having a roof over our heads, I am more thankful for the things that make it a home.” What makes my house a home? Let me share with you a few things:

• My husband sitting his chair playing the XBox with my son or a friend
• My daughter running around in her “outfit of the day”

• My cat Max sleeping on the bed

• Our latest addition playing with something

My house is typically filled with noise and chaos. A TV is always on somewhere. Someone is usually playing an electronic game (Nintendo, Leapster, Xbox). The dogs are barking at each other or the cats. The cats are running through the house. The only time this house is truly quiet for an extended amount of time is at night, after my kids have gone to bed. But this is my life, my home, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I am thankful for the life I have and the people who are part of my life, especially my family (including the pets). Thank you spilledcookies for reminding me to look at all that I have instead of the little that I’ve lost during the past few days.