I’m pretty sure you’ve had times when there is this Perfect Storm of events that seems to conspire against – you. Nothing really serious, but just enough to make you jump out of your tree for a few moments.
For example – a couple of days ago, one of the really, really hot stormy days, I got home late, looking forward to a lovely, healthy, green salad and an evening of reading and watching CSI Miami.
WELL. I flipped on the kitchen light and the bulb blew. Rats. My house is surrounded by oaks, which I love, but it makes things dark inside without the light on. I chose my kitchen light because it is pretty, not realizing it takes two people and a ladder to change the bulb. I was one person and one ladder short.
So, in the relative darkness, I set about constructing my lovely leafy salad. I do a mini-splurge with my vinegar and oil, saving up and buying every couple of months, it at a cute little shop up in Cocoa Beach called Of Olives and Grapes. They sell nothing but yummy vinegar and olive oils in all sort of flavors.
I got out a brand new bottle of Tuscan Herb olive oil and gently began to add it to the white peach vinegar and water. The phone rang. I turned. And knocked the entire, full bottle of oil AND the mixing bottle off the counter and onto the tile floor, where it instantly shattered into 3 zillion shards. My semi-visible kitchen floor was covered with thick olive oil and broken glass. The caller wanted me to re-finance my mortgage. And I didn’t have anything to dress my salad with except peanut butter.
I velcroed on my green foam gardening knee pads and got down on my hands and knees and started to pick up the glass and mop up the oil. It took 4 dish towels and 5 (five!) rolls of paper towels and 3 Swiffer mop pads. My floor still feels a little slippery. But it sure smells nice.
Later, in honor of the lost oil, I poured a glass of wine and ordered a pizza. And reminded myself of how fortunate I am to have my own home, and my own kitchen floor on which to spill things. Working for an organization such as Habitat, and seeing the conditions under which far too many people in our community have to live and to try to raise their children – that can give you a reality check. And remind you of what’s worth fussing about and what to – just mop up.
Have a good one.
