Thanksgiving

Written: 11/15/06

Today, at work, I got a phone call from my dad. My parents' house had caught on fire and the garage was gutted. They lost the garage, a new car, a work van, a lawn mower, a gas grill, tons of computer equipment, our Christmas tree and decorations, and countless memories we may never realize were lost in there... But, they were both ok.

They were home at the time of the fire. Thanks to quick thinking. Thanks to smoke detectors. Thanks to good neighbors, for noticing and calling 911 and banging on their door, to let them know what was going on (in case they hadn't already realized it). Thanks to the local fire department for getting there so quickly. Thanks for it not happening in the middle of the night. Thanks for countless other things my mind can't even think of right now... They still have each other... and I still have them!

It could've been so much worse... It could've happened when we were all out of town, last weekend, and they would've had that to come back to. It could've happened in the middle of the night. It could've been the whole house. The gas tank on the car could've blown up. The tanks for the gas grill could've blown up. There are all sorts of ways it could've been worse that I won't even name... But, it wasn't.

Thank you, God!

Thank you for all the things that went right today. Thank you for watching over them and protecting them and giving me at least one more evening with them.

Thank you.