Small Miracles

June 24, 2015

So many times we get just what we need, and in the nick of time. But life goes on, new challenges arise, and we forget that these small miracles ever happened.

So I started a list. It’s in no way complete, but it helps me remember that there is somebody looking out for me.

Some examples:

It took a year, but I finally got my dream job in Boise, Idaho. The type of work, the hours, the location, the salary—everything. Actually, for me that counts as a large miracle.

(Now I have to do it again, in St. Louis. Is it being pushy to hope I don’t have to wait too long?)

Then there was the guy in the pickup, who came down a road just as my daughter and I slid into a snowbank that we couldn’t dig our way out of (even with the snow shovel we kept in the trunk). It so happened that he even had a tow line, because just the day before he’d pulled his son-in-law’s car out of the snow. What are the odds that he’d be traveling down that road, at that time, with just the right equipment?

There was the time the internet pooped out just AFTER I’d printed my boarding passes.

There was the guy at the intersection who rolled down his window to tell me that a tire was going flat. The tire shop was just on the other side of the red light. And it wasn’t a nail, as I’d thought. Two tires were actually in dangerous condition. Again, what are the odds?

Our normal cat-sitter wasn’t available once, and a woman at church just happened to mention that she loved cats and was free that weekend.

I was on a drive from Boise to Wyoming. I didn’t know there was a hole in my radiator, but after 11 hours of driving, the car started to overheat—only 10 miles from my destination; and in a place with cell service. (A quarter-mile earlier, there hadn’t been any.)

Yesterday, because of lots of issues which I won’t go into, three of us were trying to move a large piece of furniture that was way more than we could handle. We were truly stumped. Just down the street a man was moving stuff out of his apartment. Not only did he offer to help us, but he had a moving dolly. I can’t even TELL you how stuck we would have been without him.

But eventually, I’m sure, we’d forget, and think, “For crying out loud, why do these annoying things always happen to us???”

So I’m keeping my list; and I hope you’ll start one, too.

Fun With Weather

June 22, 2015

It’s been raining a lot in the Midwest. Here are some tweets from yesterday’s Weatherbird column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I give the Metro responder full points:

“Hey @STL Metro is the MetroArk line going to be up and running soon? I think we’re going to need it! #stlwx” Amanda Markel, @MrsMommy

Response:

“@MrsMommy Not yet. But when we do, we require groups of two. Choose wisely.:)” St. Louis Metro, @STLMetro.

Going Ballistic

June 10, 2015

Smoking Prohibited. No Alcohol on Premises. No Skateboarding. No Firearms. Dogs must be on leash. No food or drink in auditorium. No strollers on escalator. No shoes, no shirt, no service.

Just a sample of items or activities prohibited in various public venues.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch June 9, 2015:

Gun-rights activist questions St. Louis Zoo's firearms ban *

I like food, beverages, dogs, and watching skateboarding. But if somebody says, “Not here,” I say, “OK.”

Some people are OK with most of the prohibitions, but when they see “No Firearms” they smell a plot to disarm them, and scream discrimination.

Why?

*Note: In this case the man was targeted for wearing an empty holster, so I can see why he was irked about his treatment. But not to the point of suing to allow guns at the Zoo.

Rain, Rain, Go...Anywhere

June 18, 2015

Dear  California,


Come and get your water.


Sincerely,

The Midwest