The lesson I learned this week was one of the strongest of all – to be thankful for the little things.  Maybe it wasn’t so much as a lesson as a reminder.  What do I mean by little things?  I mean your toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb to fix your hair in the mornings, a can of soup, and the bowl and silverware to eat the soup, even one set of clothes.  So what brought this lesson home?

My grandparents’ house burnt down this week – to the ground. They have nothing left.  Not one thing was salvageable out of their home. It caught fire at 11:00 at night while they were in sleepwear so the family didn’t even have one set of clothes to wear the next day. My grandmother was not even able to grab her purse so she has no driver’s licence, social security card, or a checkbook. I (and probably you) don’t think each morning when the alarm goes off at such an early hour that we are thankful for that alarm or the fact that we can jump in the shower and wash our hair and clean our body, and then get out and put on a clean pair of clothes, but this week after almost every action I’ve taken, I’ve realized how lucky I am to have these things.

So what’s next? We’re all trying to figure that out together. My grandfather is 71, my grandmother not far behind him, and they have 3 mentally challenged relatives living with them that they care for. The family has gathered to help (my brother is even sending a package from his platoon in Iraq). Luckily, they did have a small insurance policy that if we shop wisely, we’re hoping will provide enough to set them back up with home. The insurance company, however, is not getting in a big hurry so the first task is to find them a rental home that doesn’t require a long term commitment (not an easy task) because we’re hoping the insurance company will not drag their feet for too long, and then we will act fast too. 

I’ve been very impressed with my school. I didn’t go to school the day after the fire as I wanted to be available for whatever I could do to help, but when I reported in the next day, people were already bringing in donations and asking for sizes. I can’t count how many times I explained that ANYTHING helps. Just to think of everything you pick up in one day, and they don’t have it.

Besides the little things, I have a new appreciation for my grandparents this week. Though we’ve mostly all stayed close and a part of each other’s lives, I am even more thankful that they, for some odd reason, had not gone to bed that night, or they probably wouldn’t be here with me today. The fire was late and started at their front door – their bedroom shares the front outside wall. If they had been asleep, it would have gotten them almost immediately.

So today when you pick up your toothbrush, wash your face with your favorite acne solutions or daily moisturizers, or do that dreaded chore that you hate the most, be thankful that you have these items, and call your relatives and just talk to them a while, plan a visit if they live a distance, but be sure that you are not taking for granted the little things.

The house the morning after the first fire.