~blessed people~

We caught the sunset a short while ago as we were heading back home to Newkirk after eating supper in Ponca City.  Since Mike and  I love to chase the setting sun every chance we get, we were thankful to be able to pull off the road as we headed north so I could get a picture of it.  It was simple yet most beautiful at the very same time.

It's been quite a day, one filled with unexpected early morning sewer problems that seemed as if they would be impossible to fix before Monday.  For a brief moment in time, I imagined us heading to stay at a motel in town until someone could come and fix the major issue that we had going on between the laundry room and bathroom.  We made call after call as we went down the listings in the phonebook for anyone who might be able to fix something on a Saturday morning.  Just when I was about to give up hope, Mike was able to find a company in Ponca City that would be able to come out yet this morning, but the charges would be doubled for a weekend call.  It didn't matter.  We had no other choice.  $300 is a substantial amount of money in an Oklahoma school teacher's personal budget, especially still two weeks away from payday.  We gladly paid it!  From the time I heard Mike call out from the bathroom and ask me to come take a look at what was in the tub until everything was fixed was only a time span of about 2 1/2 hours. 

It seemed like days and days.

As bad as a backed up sewer drain is on a Saturday morning with 20,000 loads of laundry looking you square in the eyes, our troubles paled in comparison to many folks out there.  Today someone had to have emergency surgery, lost their job, didn't have enough money to pay their bills, buried a loved one, or had to figure out what to buy-food for a hungry family or medicine for one who was ill and in need of care.  All we had to do was find someone to help on a weekend and then come up with the money to pay for it. 

It's all in how you look at things.

We are certainly a blessed people. 
May God forgive me when I forget that.



Our day ended up at a wonderful supper club in Ponca City where we celebrated Mike's upcoming 62nd birthday.  Through the kindness of a dear woman who worked with me during the first semester at school, we were given a gift card to use for our meal.  It was quite a change for us and it felt nice to try something new and different.

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