Being Thankful In The Rain

We moved in our beautiful little bungalow home in Tampa, FL a few days ago. I love my new “old” house. The only thing I would change is the “bonus room”. It’s really a screened in patio. This is where I’m storing my art studio equipment and works in progress until I find an off site work space. The house is small and there’s no other place to put my studio stuff.

[A view from the "safe" side of the French Doors. My daughter and I accidently locked ourselves on the patio while investigating water damage to my studio supplies during a downpour of rain. At that time, there was no tarp covering the boxes. Photo credit. P. Rashid]

If I could, I would secure the patio with real walls and a substantial roof instead of the screens and flimsy roof that’s there now. But then it would lose some of the ambience-there’s a serene little view of my back yard. It’s a great space when the weather is nice. But I realize now that this “bonus room/patio” won’t make a good studio or storage space-not even temporarily.

Everything was fine until it rained yesterday.

[Boxes covered with tarp after exposed to the downpour of rain in my patio. You can see some of the water damage at the bottom of image. Photo credit: P. Rashid]

When it first started to pour, I went out with my 8 year old daughter and tried to assess the damage being done. The baby was napping.

As I watched the rain pour through the patio screens and the roof leak, I was getting a bit upset that some of my work and art supplies were getting drench. Some of the boxes were getting soaked and I didn't know what valuable thing I was losing....until the French doors leading to the patio closed......

All this time, my daughter was acting really timid. It was a very dark day. The rain was pouring down and there was a little thunder. My kid was hopping all over the place, trying not to get wet...but at the same time trying to stay close to me. I was wondering why she was acting this way.

[My Conrad Printing Press covered with a grill cover after the rain. Hopefully that will cut down on possible damage due to exposure. Photo credit: P.Rashid]

I was distracted. I closed the door. When I did, I realized the door was locked. My cell phone and keys were inside along with my sleeping 14 month old baby. She was due to wake up any moment. Well, all that frustration and worry about my artwork, paints, inks, and even my printing press rusting away in the rain, just went away. I could only think of my baby waking up alone in the house.

It’s funny how your priorities can change in a split second.

I stopped thinking about how much it can suck being a military family and moving all the time. I stopped thinking about how annoyed I was at my 8 year daughter’s behavior. I STARTED thinking about how to get in my new “old” house without breaking windows to get to my baby!

I remembered a nice neighbor I met the day before. I walked in the rain over to her house and she called Pop-A-Lock for me. Apparently they have a policy of opening doors for mothers who lock themselves out, for free. Whew! Nice to know I'm not the only one....

The baby was crying when I got in the house but she calmed down once she was in my arms and I apologized profusely. Actually, she finally forgave me when I put a bottle of warm milk in her mouth. That figures…children are so easy!

Anyway, last night as I went through soaked and ruined boxes to salvage my work and supplies, I was pretty calm. Most of my anger had dissipated. My husband promised to cover everything with tarp until I found a more suitable storage space.

Deep down, I know that things will work out. I’ve got my family and a roof over my head. There’s a lot to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!