What's a Little Water?

Sometimes, when we least expect it, we get our eyes opened for real. Last August, during the tragedy that was Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent hurricanes that followed shortly on her tail, I remember feeling so much sympathy for the people whose lives were directly affected by the devastation. I immediately got online and donated what I could through the Network for Good, as well as giving all the clothing, shoes, etc. I could to the Red Cross to be sent to assist in the relief efforts. I hurt for what these people I most likely would never meet were going through, and wanted to do whatever I could to help. I thought I understood.

Yesterday, March 16th, was the birthday of my nephew's girlfriend; a young woman who I already love so much that I am praying daily for my nephew to get smart enough to ask her to marry him before some other brother beats him to the punch. I love to celebrate birthdays and always try to give gifts that really suit the person. In this case, I gave my "niece" what she and I refer to as a little bit of freedom. She was very pleased with her gift, and to follow it up, I took she and my nephew, my son and his friend, and my brother and myself out for dinner to celebrate. We were gone for a total of three hours maximum. When we left, we left my home dry and intact. When we returned, we found this:

(Note the reflection of the room in the carpet!)

and this: oh, and did I mention this:

In less than three hours, a clogged drain resulted in three-fourths of my basement being flooded with about four inches of standing water. A clogged drain...that, had it clogged an hour earlier, would have been noticed and dealt with before the indoor swimming pool that is now my basement developed.

I was beside myself. My first reaction was total disbelief. My second reaction was how could this have happened in such a short period of time? My next reaction was why is this happening to me? I'm a good person. I try to be generous and kind to others, respectful and courteous; I generally follow the golden rule and do unto others as I would have them do unto me. Except I try to do unto others whether or NOT they do unto me the same or as good. So, I ask again, "Why is this happening to me?"

My final reaction: "Sharon! You need to check yourself! This happened to you because shit happens to people and its as simple as that!" I started to think about the arrogance of my attitude that because I'm a "good person" bad things should/would/could never happen to me. What about all of those people to whom Hurricane Katrina happened? Were they not good people? Am I so self-absorbed and egotistical to believe that I deserve better or more than they do? Sometimes, bad things happen. It IS as simple as that! They lost everything and in many cases, irreplaceable persons about whom they cared. In reality, what did I lose?

My basement is flooded. It stinks to hell and back. The plumber was expensive. The clean-up will be even more expensive. Some things will be lost. None of the things that will be lost are irreplaceable, and they are not my loved ones. I have a little water in my basement relative to the water that Hurricane Katrina displaced, and I have the audacity to be "devastated"? NOT!

Until now, just now, I THOUGHT I UNDERSTOOD!

My Apologies.