January 26, 2009
grace in small things: ten (not just a list! a whole post!)
We’re hunkered down for an ice storm here; the governor of Oklahoma has declared a State of Emergency for all 77 counties, which is Serious, with a capital S. When I told my father that, he said, “Oh I assumed that was because Barack Obama is the President now.”
He’s so funny, my dad.
School is canceled tomorrow; Wade’s office will most likely be closed. Of course I will have to work, because the Internet NEVER closes, but at least I won’t have to get dressed. See — grace in small things!
1. Fleece yoga pants.
I was emailing with a co-worker from New York City tonight; she said, “Ice storms scare me. I hope you have many provisions (eg, vodka and milk and microwave popcorn), and that you don’t lose power.”
The ice doesn’t really worry me; it’s tornadoes that freak me out. But I have already warned the children to wear warm pajamas to bed, because we’re not relocating in the middle of the night if the power goes out. And I have charged my phone and my laptop because god forbid I be without the Internet in this crisis.
And yes, I have vodka. Lots of it. Praise Jesus.
2. Charlie
Charlie stayed home with me today, because he has a raging head cold and it seemed unfair to send him to school when his nose was a constantly dripping faucet of snot. We watched a lot of SpongeBob and Jimmy Neutron and then when we both got tired of television, he drew pictures while I cleaned the silver — his masterpiece was an anti-hunting deer (”He’s the HUNTING EXTERMINATOR! He JUMPS ON the hunters and stops them!”) which came complete with a huge X-ed out rifle drawn on the deer’s flank. I do not know where the kid gets his ideas.
He’s feeling better now, although he did announce at dinner, “I have a case of the bad colds.”
3. Brownie mix.
Wade came home early tonight; his office closed mid-day, and so he went and picked Henry up at school and then went out AGAIN to get milk because despite the fact that I went to the grocery yesterday, we were out of milk, and also Fritos (very important in an ice storm). And then he fell asleep on the floor in the living room while the kids played with the Wii, which was amazing to me since they NEVER ONCE STOPPED TALKING.
After dinner (chili that Wade made after his impromptu floor nap), we all had brownies, because if you’re going to be trapped in the house for two days you might as well have dessert. They were still warm and chewy and delicious, and it was just a little bit festive.
4. Charity that begins at home.
I’ve been cleaning out my closet, as part of not shopping until I have worn everything, and early early this morning, before the ice storm really got going, I put three bags of stuff out on my front porch for AmVets to pick up. And then I forgot all about it until the nice AmVets person called at 4:00 pm to say that the truck wasn’t coming because of the storm. But by then, everything in the top of the bags was frozen solid.
I suppose those cardigans will thaw and recover, right? Right.
5. Open doors.
I have found myself, in the past few months, in a situation that is causing me more stress than it is worth. Until very recently, though, I was convinced that if I just stuck it out and got through this [insert specific project/issue/time of year here] the stress would level off and it would all be good. In the past week, I’ve had to start facing the fact that this particular situation is only getting worse and it is time to start planning my exit strategy.
And oddly, as soon as I admitted that, as soon as I announced “I am working on finding a way out,” the ways began to appear in front of me. And suddenly, without anything at all changing, everything is looking better.
The universe is funny that way. And also very very good.
Posted by Susan @ 8:31 pm • grace in small things
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January 26th, 2009 at 9:22 pm, Shara Says:
We are “hunkered down” as well for the ice storm. Brrr— Our electricity was off for a few hours, but is back on now. Yea!!
enjoy the brownies! And wear socks to bed.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:27 pm, Keri Says:
I love the post around the list… But I get so lazy.
Stay warm and stay indoors and out of the ice! We’ve had a bit of that ourselves this winter. Not good.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:39 pm, Heather Says:
Glad that exit strategy found you just as you were looking for it! Hope the unexpected day off/in is not cabin feverish and that no one else catches a case of the bad colds!
January 26th, 2009 at 10:40 pm, ali Says:
being trapped in the house certainly requires brownies. mmm…brownies…
January 26th, 2009 at 11:07 pm, mrs.chicken Says:
We have a weather alert here: two inches of snow, oh my!
Ah, the midwest.
So we made chocolate-chip cookie bars. Stay warm and safe. And don’t stress.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:14 pm, Kim Yamaguchi Says:
Can I say that I envy the AmVets because they’re getting your cast-offs?
And as long as you have vodka, all should be well! (but be careful until everything thaws)
January 27th, 2009 at 6:18 am, Rebecca Says:
Brrr!
I have to say I love this Grace in Small Things Series. I especially love today’s longer post!
Hope your power stayed on & stay warm!
January 27th, 2009 at 6:48 am, Jill Says:
I just want to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I’ve been reading your Grace In Small Things in the morning to help set the tone for my day- to be mindful of all the wonderful things in my life, big and small.
I really liked the last part about finding a way out of a situation. Sometimes we forget to trust the universe.
Hope you’re warm and not running out of provisions!
January 27th, 2009 at 9:01 am, Kristie Says:
Is it wrong and selfish of me that my main concern is that the ice thaw in time for us to have lunch on Thursday???
January 27th, 2009 at 9:32 am, Mama Bear Says:
Personally I am waiting for the photos of polished silver. I have forgotten what shiny silver actually looks like because mine is perpetually tarnished. Good luck with the ice, here instead of ice we have -13 with a windchill of -25. No, school is not canceled, it never is here. Unless the drifts are over the front doors of the school and the maintenance guy can’t get to the shovel, there’s school.
January 27th, 2009 at 2:37 pm, Angella Says:
Praise Jesus for vodka, INDEED.
I think you need to meet me at casa Whoorl this weekend to escape the ice storm. Just sayin’…
January 28th, 2009 at 9:59 am, mom, again Says:
My small thing with grace:
Milk delivery. Oh, my gosh. This is the best! I moved to the UK, I wish the door to door salesman for the milk company had come sooner! We’ve had it about 6 months. Every Tues, Thurs & Sat. morning, I open the door and, MILK! Everytime I think I might run out, it’s delivery day the next day! So far we haven’t had such bad weather that they haven’t delivered–not sure how bad that would have to be.
(They deliver all sorts of other dairy products, and eggs & bread, too. And pet food. Though I only get two kinds of milk, the rest I can manage with weekly shopping, or do without for a couple days.)