Waiting it Out

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference. 

 

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr--

Isn't that such a beautiful prayer?  In the addiction field, we often hear and say the Serenity Prayer, but not in its entirety. 

 
Just dropping by to wish you all well.  To those in the path of the storm, please be safe, and for goodness sakes, do listen to our officials.  It's still fairly calm here, but I know that there always is a calm before the storm. My supervisor lives on Staten Island, TWO blocks from the ocean, but they refuse to evacuate.  Her hubby just doesn't believe it is going to be as bad as they say it is, and it's obvious they know nothing of dealing with a storm like this.  They're plan for safety is to head for the basement.  That's something you do in a tornado.  In a hurricane, you try to get to higher ground. I've lectured until I was blue in the face so now all I can do is pray for their safety.  By the way, speaking of evacuations...

...this should prove to be a rather interesting weekend, in more ways than one.  Not only is the city warning 'everyone' to stay inside for the duration of the hurricane once it begins, but I will be spending it with one of my 'favorite' people...one of hubby's sisters I had mentioned the other day.  It's really something how you can talk someone up, isn't it?

Well, she does live in an evacuation area and had no place to go.  It's an emergency situation.  I may not be happy about it, but how could I possibly say 'no?'  There is no place for grudges and resentments when lives are at stake, so, I will be riding out two storms, so to speak.  I will be playing hostess to the sister, her daughter, and her daughter's four children...all under the age of six, in my tiny 5 room apartment.  Should be very interesting, to say the least.  

I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that this will be the magic bullet that makes her like me.  I've been through that too many times before and have ended up hurt because of it. So, I'll put on a smile, serve her some tea, and listen to her profuse profession of love for her favorite sister-in-law with the total knowledge that when the storm blows over it will carry with it her newly found love for me, and things will  once again return to normal.  

Be safe, my friends, and those in the path of Irene, please try to let us know how you are.  If all goes well, and the electricity remains, I'll be here as soon as I can.  Blessings to you all.