"So bend to your trouble and meet your care, for the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair. Let the rain come down, as it must and will, but keep on working and hoping still."
- Edgar A. Guest

In the time since I last wrote to you, the waves kept coming one after another. The list kept growing and the rains have continued to fall. The feeling of being over-whelmed is easy to succumb to during these periods.

So what happened?

The storm that blew in tore down some trees started it all and I will lay the blame on that storm. While it is foolish to assign blame in this fashion, it simply establishes the timeline. The next thing to happen was my upper level air conditioning unit had a humidity drain hose leak that went undetected until it was. What that means is my upstairs hallway ceiling became a mushy mess of water dripping. I quickly fixed the water leak and the ceiling will be repaired by someone more capable then myself.

Yet the fun decided to continue.

The next morning it seemed that the house was not keeping up with the cooling during heat wave we were having. My downstairs air conditioning unit was unable to cool and the unit was frosting over. Winter frost on the pipes during summer, how delightful. This was then repaired at a none too inexpensive cost by our Heating & Air specialists, replacing the blower fan in unit. this resulted in much cooler heads and thinking.

I know appear to be a proper whining blogger.

If you have remained reading to this point, or have read my blog posts over the years, I am actually a very positive person. And the story here is really about how we react to these endless waves of issues that come at us. In fact, these things do not happen just to me or you alone. In fact I can state some folks close to us have gone through (excuse the book reference) "A Series of Unfortunate Events" lately.

These folks have a SUV which has had issues from day one and have accumulated frustration and cost over the past year or so. They made a wise decision to cut their trouble and sell back the vehicle to the dealership. With that wave passed, they are now a one car family adjusting to their new transportation situation.

And then wave number two came along.

A very well meaning recall notice on their remaining vehicle arrived from the manufacturer. The recall was for safety and they dutifully took the car to the dealership which performed the work necessary. The dealership also did what was right and did an inspection of the car as a courtesy. The items found would cost over one thousand dollars to fix. Wave number two felt bigger then wave number one, or maybe it felt more like a punch in the gut.

You know it is coming.

Now these fine folks have two small boys and boys can be quite inventive, inquisitive and tornado-like in their adventurous day. Wave three comes in as flour not only spread upon the table, but the floor, in various non-food containers and in places flour just should not be. In fact, their lovely brown haired dog was now an equine coated spectacle of flour.

There are pictures of proof later in life that I am sure these two boys will be reminded of. But the great part was yes, one could only laugh at the situation and know the good things in life actually out-weigh the bad. To focus on the crushing wave upon wave is to forget the sea breeze, the brilliant blue sky and the exhilarating excitement life provides us with.

We all go through our seasons of turmoil and discombobulating events. What may seem trivial to one person has a most upsetting impact to another. Our problems are all relative in the context of our personal lives. What we do have commonality in is that we all experience these waves. Like the normal rhythm of our breathing, or day turning to night or the changing of the seasons, the joyful will return.

Stay inspired my friends!