Half full or half empty?



My day from maybe 2:00 a.m. til 8:45 or so....

Half EMPTY~awakened by a blazing flash of lightning that burned my retinas it was so close, followed almost immediately by a crash of thunder that nearly shook me out of the bed, and an exclamation by my husband (that for the life of me I can't remember now). Followed by tossing and turning and little sleep because my head was throbbing and my throat was raw, sure signs an end-of-summer cold? allergy attack?? is bearing down. Followed by Thomas in a frustrated rage because he couldn't find his school uniform pants (he's already left one pair at school because of changing for ball practice--he'll get "written up" if he's out of uniform, but I don't what that means exactly, nor do I care to find out), and me, subsequently, ill as a hornet because of his irresponsibility (and my sleep deprivation and flu-like symptoms). Followed by Stephen saying, "Mom, the garage door isn't going up...". Sure enough, I go out, it doesn't budge. I try the manual release...it doesn't budge. My blood's starting to simmer (ooooo, I'm thinking of Heather's post from yesterday all of a sudden!).

We did not lose power during the storm, but I head to the breaker box. Yep, the switch is flipped, so I snap it back over. Still, no power. I remember Tad telling me in the past, you had to reset outlet breakers all over the house when the power to the garage went out, so off I go. I reset all of 'em. Still not budging...which means I have to go under the house for the final one (I have NEVER gone under our house! On my way (it's on the opposite end of the house from the garage), I walk along the path in our front yard...STRAIGHT INTO A VERY SCARY SPIDER WEB THAT ATTACHES ITSELF TO MY FACE LIKE SECOND SKIN!!! I shall not repeat what I said at that moment, but it will win me no "Mother of the Year" awards. I get there, and thankfully SEE a bunch of webs I have to clear out before they attack me, and crawl underneath. OF COURSE, the light doesn't work!! OF COURSE, I have to go back around the house to find a flashlight that actually works!! At this point I call Tad. I head back under the house, phone in tow, while Tad tells me to do everything I've done so far. My blood's heated up a couple of degrees. He's in the middle of something at work, says he'll call me back in five. I take the flashlight and scan under the house...I see NO OUTLETS. It was still dark, very CSI-ish. And to be honest, I scanned the ground in case any snakes fell "off the plane" into our crawl space. Crouched, I wait on Tad's call, TICKED I can NOT find it on my own! (I hope you're feeling my intensity). I get his call, it's on the CEILING (ummm, I didn't think to look there). I reset that outlet, head back to the garage....AND the (*&%$ thing STILL won't open!!

I try to open it manually again...Tad's "coaching" me and I wanna HIT someone...I'm literally sweating now, my head is still pounding and the kids KNOW to keep clear of The Evil One who has now possessed their mother. I'm not making any progress, so I get Rachel and Thomas to try...not budging with them, either.

Fifteen minutes have passed since the ordeal began, and one of the kids had the presence of mind to suggest calling a friend in the 'hood who also goes to their school; they were able to hitch a ride. Tad told me he'd come home when he could and fool with it (a 30-minute one-way commute). We figure it was hit by the previously-mentioned lightning strike. I cut my losses, come inside, find something productive to do (at least loading the dishwasher and starting a load of laundry is forward progress), and drink another hot cuppa joe.

Half FULL~I LOVE a good storm; it's one of those times you can see and feel and hear the power of God. My bed is oh-so-comfy. We did not lose power in the rest of the house. My children woke up and got ready early (originally, so we could leave earlier than normal). Thomas finally found his pants in Stephen's room AND they were clean :). Stephen brushed his own hair; you'd think at 9 he wouldn't need help, but the kid's hair has a life of its own (sometimes even I can't do "anything" with it...). There was a ready flashlight. My kids knew exactly how to respond to me in this situation (stay outta my way til I call 'em). I have Tylenol and Advil. Our neighbor hadn't left for school yet. Nothing else electronic was destroyed by the lightning (and our house didn't burn down--we had friends years ago who lost theirs to a lightning stike).

And my knight came home to rescue his damsel in distress :) (picture little cartoon hearts floating out of my eyes right now). He didn't even give me a hard time about not being able to figure out all you had to do was take a wrench and whack the latch release a few times.

My morning's antics pale in comparison to what a lot of people wake up to :(. I am well aware that many have no house to call home, no family to love or be loved by, no husband who can fix just about anything, no neighbors (or friends) to call when in need.

Half full glass? I think not.

Mine is over flowing.