It’s been rather difficult for me to post lately.  The area that everyone was saying wasn’t going to be affected has been affected pretty badly.  The company my husband works for laid off 25 people.  Another company in town laid off over 200, and oil wells are closing down.  It’s become as bleak here as it’s been in the rest of the country all along.

The other day, I was walking during lunch and feeling sorry for myself when I noticed someone kneeling behind an electric scooter working on it.  I stopped to see if he needed any help, and the nut had come off the wheel in the back, and the wheel was in danger of falling off.  Someone else found the nut, and the giy said that his disability check blew out of his hand when the wheel had fallen off his scooter.  I looked around and didn’t see his check.

I should be grateful, I have both hands and both feet.  I am able to walk where I need to go, and I am able to work.

Then there’s this last weekend.  Wildfires devastated Midwest City and left over 100 people homeless.  They lost everything.  I remember going through what they’re going through.  Our trailer burned when I was a sophomore in high school.  We lost everything.  Even the electronics melted to unusability.  We only kept our pictures because they had been put in the addition.  Now, I can’t imagine going through that.  I have my laptop and another computer, all with priceless information.  Pictures uploaded to my computer that I could never replace.  It’s scary.

I need to be grateful.  I haven’t lost my house, I still have a place to live and still have a job to pay my rent.

Things are tight all over, but there are reasons to be grateful out there.  We need to be conscious of our decisions.  We need to stop focusing on the bad, no matter how bad things are around us.  Unfortunately, the media has a tendency of focusing on the bad.  They escalated the problem with the AIG bonuses until there were death threats made to the executives.  Now the media doesn’t know which way to turn.  There may be signs of improvement, they may not be.  They have no clue what to say so they keep going in circles and contradicting themselves.

My feeling is, don’t focus on the big picture, focus on what’s around you.  Take the time each day to enjoy the fact that we’ve got one more day above ground.  We have another chance to get things right.  Hug your families and give thanks that we have each other.