Well, I Never…

At the end of a long week, it’s time I took stock of some things:

1. I have never experienced a damaging fire.  I’ve never lost all my photos and clothes and furniture to a voracious flame, eating everything in its path.  I have never had to find a way to start over with nothing.
2. I have never been the victim of a thief, having my purse or identity stolen.  I have never had my home broken into and robbed.  I have never had to find a way to live in a space that was desecrated by a stranger and try to feel safe there.
3. I have never cried out in the roar of my home being destroyed by swirling winds.  I have never watched my possessions scattered across the countryside.  I have never had to stand with neighbors, surrounded by debris, wondering if anyone has seen my photo, my dog, my grandma.
4. I have never had my life swept away by deluge of water.  I have never felt the choking, icy water fill my home or my lungs.  I have never had to decide whether I rebuild or run away.
5. I have never felt the pain of real hunger.  I have never begged for money or food.  I have never had to wonder where, or when my next meal would come.
6. I have never covered my body in dirty boxes or discarded clothes in hopes of staying warm.  I have never felt the rain on my face when there was no shelter to protect me.  I have never had to tolerate scornful looks from strangers who think they know my story.
7. I have never been told I have a disease that can’t be relieved.  I have never changed my diet, taken large quantities of pills or endured endless surgeries in the hope that something will ease my suffering.  I have never had to relearn how to do even simple tasks.
8. I have never lost a parent, sibling or child.  I have never felt abandoned or like an orphan.  I have never had to find a way to get up each morning after my world had been ripped apart and I was left with a gaping hole.
9. I have never heard a doctor say “you don’t have much time.”  I have never lived my life in a race against time.  I have never had to measure every moment as if it were my last.
10. I have never been condemned because of my religion.  I have never been in a fight to defend my beliefs.  I have never had to choose my life or my faith.

My life is blessed.