Sister Susan Says: It's never too early to give thanks

Friday night we had a storm in Seattle. I was sacked out on the couch, finishing up Linda Howard's Burn, when around midnight lightening lit up the window next to me. Right on its heels came a horrendous clap of thunder. Electrical storms in this area are mostly seen over the Cascades, not downtown, so it was a rare event. But that was just the opening act, for the skies then opened up in a torrential downpour.

I knew Mojo was in but thought Boo must still be out as I hadn't seen him for awhile and he's a fool for the outdoors. I figured he'd want in out of this, however, and, boy, it was blowing when I opened the front door! Rain poured down in silvery sheets.

But Boo wasn't in his usual spot on the balustrade on the covered front porch. He wasn't perched atop the big blue flowerpot (which I've given up planting flowers in as he seems to think its his personal lookout post). So I headed for the door between our kitchen and the basement, since The Boys' backup stay-dry spot is under the back porch right outside of it.

The minute I opened that door, however, I got soaked in a deluge that blew literally sideways from the west--something else we don't often see. I heard the next day that winds got up to 60 miles an hour.

I abandoned Boo Radley to his fate and wrestled the door shut--and not a second too soon as the rain turned to hail. It sounded as if each individual pellet was the size of a golf ball, but I didn't reopen the door to check. Popular opinion to the contrary, I am not as dumb as I look.

As it turned out, Boo must have gone up to bed with the soul mate that evening, because by the time I got back to the kitchen, leaving little puddles of water everywhere I stepped, there he was, perfectly dry and looking sleep-rumpled. The hail probably woke him up.

I snuggled back on the couch and found it incredibly cozy being inside while the elements raged all around us. It reminded me of how lucky I am to have a nice dry house when so many people have no home at all. And that got me counting my blessings.

Ordinarily, I'd save this post for the day before Thanksgiving, but I've got a guest author in that time slot. And I'm thankful for the same things today that I will be in two weeks, anyhow, since they're pretty much what I try hard every day not to take for granted: a home and the people who fill it, steady work, good friends, brothers and a sister- in-law who help in the ongoing effort to take care of my mother and keep her in her home for as long as it's safe to do so. I'm so fortunate in the people around me, truly blessed.

How about you? What are you thankful for in your day to day life? You know me. Nosy--er, that is inquiring-- minds always want to know.