If you feel any emotion long enough, you become worn out......

I heard that on the radio today. I like that. It still feels odd/wrong to start trying to get back to normal when there's so much 'un-normal' around, yet it doesn't feel right to just feel 'bad' all the time. Pity parties get us no where.

At the dentist today the first question everyone asked was, "How was the traffic on your way here?" Then..very quickly..everyone adds, "Well, if traffic's the worse thing we have to worry about, we're blessed." It's that way wherever you go--people ask things like, Is your garbage being picked up? Have you noticed more police cars patrolling your neighborhood? Did you know such-and-such a store if only accepting cash now? Have you noticed that WalMart is keeping their liquor up front at one checkout? When do you think stores will have full shelves again? Then..quickly..we all add, "Well, if (fill in the problem) is all we have to complain about, we're blessed. And, that's true. But..it's also true that life, in many additional ways, is a pain in the butt now-a-dazes. And I feel bad about feeling that way.

In the dentist office today, there were three of us waiting our turn and we started talking. Asking each other..any trouble getting here? Each of us told our story and then said the obligatory, "Well, if that's all we have to worry about......"

One lady got a far-away look and told us that there were members of her family in Bogalosa that she still hasn't heard from. (Rita's doing, not Katrina's.) Nobody said it out loud this time, but I think we all silently thought it, "Well, if all we have to worry about is how long it's going to take us to get back home, we are truly blessed."