Gratitude

Itisthesmallthingsinlifethatwehavetolearntoappreciate. 

I will get back to that soon. But hey! How was that storm?

Our power went out a few times Saturday night and then for good about 11 a.m. on Sunday. 

And then it was quiet. No whir of the fridge, no radio, no TV (for many reasons-but that is for another time), no Internet. Just the load noises of my kids trying to play with their legos. And how sweet is that sound. 

I started to realize how spoiled I am on a regular day. How much I have to be thankful for and somehow just forget to pay attention to. 

So for the next 60 hours or so, I learned how blessed I really am.  

For electrical lighting

For having 2 cars

For having gas so that I could take a shower and cook food 

For having games that my kids can play with 

For the neighbors who helped keep the street clean 

For the garbage men who took the rubble on Tuesday morning 

For toilets that flush without electricity 

For friends who kept calling to check in on my family 

For my kids being healthy 

For my wife being calm and capable of managing all the chaos

And then it happened...

I was cleaning some glass on the side of the house that broke during the storm and....sliced my palm open right under my thumb. 

My wife rushed me to my dear friend Dr. Ron Roth in Smithtown and he sewed me up with 5 stitches. Now wrapped in a bandage and a sling, I tried to get back to work. Which is difficult with only four fingers on my right hand.

And I learned to be grateful for some more things:

Thanks for nice doctors

Thanks for nice nurses

Thanks for anesthesia

Thanks for two hands

Thanks for thumbs

Did you ever realize how important a thumb is?

Try turning a door knob without your thumb 

Try writing without your thumb 

Try cutting dinner without your thumb 

Try texting without your thumb

Try pressing the space bar without your thumb 

So yes: Itisthesmallthingsinlifethatwehavetolearntoappreciate.